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3 Teams, 2 Point Guards And A Deal Gone Wrong

By Phil Watson

Feb 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) is defended by Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) during the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) is defended by Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) during the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Jerry Colangelo (R) is introduced as special advisor to the Philadelphia 76ers during a press conference with owner Joshua Harris (M) and general manager Sam Hinkie (L) before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Jerry Colangelo (R) is introduced as special advisor to the Philadelphia 76ers during a press conference with owner Joshua Harris (M) and general manager Sam Hinkie (L) before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia 76ers

Received: Protected first-round pick from Los Angeles Lakers, via Phoenix Suns
Dispatched: PG Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee Bucks

The 76ers may ultimately win this deal—we may not know for a half-decade or so, given that Philadelphia may not take possession of the Lakers’ first-round pick until 2018 at the latest.

As it currently stands, Los Angeles is currently the second-worst team in the NBA at 5-27 (ahead of only, coincidentally, the 2-31 76ers) and would have better than a coin flip’s chance (55.8 percent likelihood of landing in the top three picks) of retaining their selection in 2016.

They gave up 2013-14 Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams in the deal and the results on the court since the trade have been … less than ideal.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Philadelphia 76ers

Here are the numbers from 2014-15, broken down into pre- and post-trade periods, and for 2015-16:

 Season G W-L PPG OPPG Ortg DRtg FG% 3PT% OFG% O3PT% TO%
14-15Pre 53 12-41 89.8 100.5 94.4 105.6 41.0 31.0 44.8 34.8 16.4
14-15Post 29 6-23 95.9 101.7 99.8 105.8 40.5 33.6 45.1 35.6 13.9
15-16 33 2-31 92.0 104.4 94.4 107.1 42.0 32.2 45.6 35.8 17.2

The Sixers played marginally better after the deal last season, but have been awful this season, particularly with regard to turning the ball over—their 17.2 percent turnover rate is the NBA’s worst.

Since dealing Carter-Williams, Philadelphia has tried just about everyone but Rocky Balboa at point guard, finally breaking down and sending two of their large collection of future second-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans to bring back Ish Smith.

Carter-Williams played in 41 games for the 76ers prior to the trade, shooting .380/.256/.643 and averaging 15 points, 7.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals (and 4.2 turnovers) in 33.9 minutes per game.

That marked a fairly serious regression from his rookie numbers of .405/.264/.703 and averages of 16.7 points, 6.3 assists, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 3.5 turnovers in 34.5 minutes a night.

So it’s understandable that the 76ers had zeroed in on the notion that MCW was not their point guard for the long haul.

But it was such a Sam Hinkie thing to do, dealing away Carter-Williams and (a) not having an actual NBA point guard on the roster or (b) getting a reasonable facsimile of one back in return.

Again, Philadelphia may end up winning this trade going away once the identity of the draft pick is known.

And given that Hinkie now has adult supervision in place in the form of Jerry Colangelo, the odds of that pick being used on either a player who can’t play because of chronic injuries or a guy who will spend several seasons overseas is greatly reduced.

Next: Phoenix Not Exactly Rising