Michael Carter-Williams will miss the rest of the season and undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip, the team announced. The injury damages whatever hopes of a postseason still exist for Milwaukee, which is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and six games back of the last playoff spot. It’ll take the point guard three months to recover, according to the team.
It’s uncertain whether Carter-Williams will play again for the Bucks at all, since he was in multiple trade rumors before last month’s deadline. Coach Jason Kidd benched the former Rookie of the Year and marquee offseason signee Greg Monroe early last month, and Carter-Williams hasn’t played at all since February 27th because of patella tendinitis and his hip.
It’s much too late for the Bucks to apply for a disabled player exception, since the deadline for those is January 15th, but the hardship provision could be in play. The hardship would give the Bucks the opportunity to sign an extra player even though they’re at the 15-man roster limit. Milwaukee is also without Steve Novak for the rest of the season, and it’s uncertain when either John Henson, who’s been out since January, and Greivis Vasquez, who hasn’t played since November, will return. A team can apply for a hardship exception if it has four players expected to miss at least two weeks.
The injury robs Carter-Williams of a chance to make a final impression before he enters an offseason in which he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension. He’s averaging career lows in points, shot attempts, assists and minutes per game, depressing his market value.
MCW has one year left on his contract at about $3.2MM. If the Bucks want to get rid of him, they should be able to find someone willing to take that gamble.
I was hoping we would get rid of MCW this summer.. Hope this doesn’t hurt his trade value too much.
Do you think it was a mistake to trade away Brandon Knight in the first place? How big a role has that played in the Bucks’ disappointing season?
Management has stated they were only interested in extending one of Knight or Middleton. I think they kept the right player. As far as how big of a the role it played in this season, just ask Phoenix fans how much Knight has helped them win games this season. The biggest issues with the Bucks this season are a weak bench and worse defense which both have nothing to do with Brandon.