Michael Carter-Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Rumors: Love, Warriors, Duncan, Lakers

June 23rd, 2014 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sources tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher and Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that the Warriors trade talks for Kevin Love are “dead,” but Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune isn’t so sure (All Twitter links). The stumbling block appears to be Minnesota’s insistence on Klay Thompson and Golden State’s refusal to give him up, according to Holmes (on Twitter), but Zgoda insists neither Thompson nor Kevin Martin is the stumbling block. Rather, it has to do with whether Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green are involved in the deal, Zgoda says. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

It appears as though the Spurs and Tim Duncan are considering a scenario in which Duncan would opt out and re-sign with the club for two years in a way that lowers team payroll and yet rewards the longtime star, tweets Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Duncan’s option is worth more than $10.361MM.
The Lakers aren’t seriously considering a rumored trade proposal involving the No. 7 pick and Michael Carter-Williams, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s more likely that the Lakers will make a deal that moves them back in the draft order, Deveney writes.
The Nuggets reportedly had interest in signing 2013 second-round pick Joffrey Lauvergne this summer, but the big man has signed a two-year deal with Khimki Moscow, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.

Ford’s Latest: Bulls, Sixers, Lakers, Afflalo

June 23rd, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The latest Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com is full of rumors, draft-related and otherwise. Let’s dive in and hit the highlights:

The Bulls are offering Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, and the 16th and 19th picks in this year’s draft to the Wolves, Ford hears. That’s presumably as part of a Kevin Love package, though Ford doesn’t make it clear exactly what Chicago wants back in return for those assets.
The Sixers continue to explore the idea of a Michael Carter-Williams trade as they seek another top-10 pick. The Lakers would like to acquire Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young for No. 7 and Steve Nash, but they’ve gained no traction on that proposal, according to Ford.
The Magic have offered picks Nos. 4 and 12 plus Arron Afflalo to the Cavs and Bucks as they attempt to move into the top two, but neither Milwaukee nor Cleveland has bitten. They’re also dangling Afflalo to the Kings and Nuggets for the eighth and 11th selections, respectively.
The Bucks are looking for an additional lottery pick, Ford reports, citing “serious” interest from other teams in Larry Sanders, John Henson and Brandon Knight. The Nuggets have spoken with Milwaukee about the No. 11 pick, according to Ford.
A source close to both the Nuggets and Dario Saric deny that Denver has given him a promise to draft him at No. 11.
There are several other medical issues that came up in Joel Embiid‘s physical in addition to his foot and back, sources tell Ford. It’s unclear how much concern there is regarding them.

Pacific Rumors: Suns, Love, MCW, Henry

June 21st, 2014 at 2:07pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Suns have brought in a multitude of point guards to their pre-draft workouts, and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press suggests (on Twitter) that such a strategy might be indicative of the team’s willingness to ship off Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic in a trade for Kevin Love. Phoenix has been identified as a potential suitor for Love, but the club hasn’t been labeled as serious candidate to land the big man. Here’s more from out west:

The Warriors have been attempting to find a third team to include in a potential deal for Love, but a source close to the situation said it’s been “difficult,” passes along Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter) that the Warriors could land Love without involving a third team if they included both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in an offer.
Michael Carter-Williams has not been included in any of the rumored trade discussions between the Lakers and the Sixers, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
There’s mutual interest in a reunion between Xavier Henry and the Lakers, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that LA hopes to hang on to all of their role players with one-year, minimum salary deals.
Alvin Gentry‘s departure to Golden State opens up the Clippers’ top assistant spot to Tyronn Lue, and LA’s fondness for Lue is a major reason the team was open to letting Gentry walk, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Draft, Heat, Hairston

June 20th, 2014 at 8:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link) that the Lakers and the Sixers are discussing a deal that would send the seventh-overall pick to Philly, but it wasn’t known what the Lakers would receive in return. The Sixers most desirable player assets are Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams. Trading Carter-Williams would open the door for Philadelphia to grab Dante Exum with the third pick, but that’s pure speculation on my part.

Atlantic Notes: Fisher, Knicks, MCW, Rondo

June 5th, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Charlie Adams

Knicks president Phil Jackson sought and obtained permission from Thunder GM Sam Presti to interview Derek Fisher this week, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The pair spoke on Wednesday and plan to reconvene next week sometime, hears Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It doesn’t sound as if the discourse has been formal, but talks may quickly pick up after this weekend when Fisher discusses with his family whether or not he’ll retire, suggests Wojnarowski. Here’s more from the Knicks and the Atlantic:

The Knicks worked out Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin yesterday, reveals Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
Michael Carter-Williams is unfazed by a report indicating that the Sixers have considered trading him and hasn’t directed agent Jeff Schwartz to check with GM Sam Hinkie about the rumor, as the Rookie of the Year tells Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
Rajon Rondo appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning and admitted that he hopes that the Celtics can make some big changes this offseason to improve the team (Instagram video link). He praised Danny Ainge‘s performance as an executive but also suggested he’s eager to be back playing in the finals soon.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines why Nick Johnson’s family ties make the projected second-round pick a good fit to play for the Celtics. Boston doesn’t currently own a second-round selection in the upcoming draft.
The uncertainty on whether or not upcoming free agent Kyle Lowry is going to return to Toronto will put the Raptors in a difficult decision come draft day, opines Eric Koreen of the National Post.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Sixers Consider Trading Michael Carter-Williams

May 28th, 2014 at 11:11am CST by Chuck Myron

Sixers management has “bounced around” the idea of trading Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports amid an Insider-only piece he co-authors with Kevin Pelton. The Sixers are high on draft prospect Dante Exum, according to Ford, and while they believe Exum and Carter-Williams could co-exist in the backcourt in spite of their shooting deficiencies, it appears they’re thinking about choosing the guard from Australia over last year’s 11th overall pick.

A couple of Philadelphia-based beat writers have advanced the idea that the Sixers should trade Carter-Williams, but it hadn’t seemed as though the team had given it serious consideration until now. Williams was a runaway winner for the Rookie of the Year award and a unanimous All-Rookie First Team selection, but he was the leader of a weak 2013 draft class and put up his numbers for a talent-poor 19-win Sixers team. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 34.5 minutes per game this past season, but he shot just 26.4% from behind the arc, and his 15.5 PER suggests only slightly above average efficiency.

The Sixers have the third and 10th picks in this year’s draft plus five second-round picks, and that coupled with ample cap flexibility gives GM Sam Hinkie plenty of options for trades. Carter-Williams probably lacks the upside of a top-three pick in this year’s draft, but he would provide trade suitors a young, inexpensive player who’s already shown he can hold his own in the NBA.

Michael Carter-Williams Leads All-Rookie Team

May 22nd, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams headlines the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, which also features Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Second Team is composed of Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Cody Zeller and Steven Adams. Carter-Williams was a unanimous first-team selection among the media members who voted for the award. Had Kevin Calabro of ESPN Radio not left Oladipo off his ballot entirely, the Magic guard would have been a unanimous first-teamer, too.

Still, the first team is made up of the only five players who received first-place votes for Rookie of the Year. Ben McLemore was the player with the most All-Rookie votes not to make either the first or the second team, and 29 players received at least one vote for one of the teams. That includes 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who drew a single second-team vote.

Only three of the top 10 picks from the 2013 draft appear on either All-Rookie Team. Still, all 10 players selected to the team were first-round picks, with Hardaway, the 24th overall selection, the last to come off the board on draft night a year ago.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Brand, Celtics

May 11th, 2014 at 12:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If the Sixers pull the trigger on a trade of Michael Carter-Williams, their point guard of the future might be Dante Exum, writes Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Many believe that Exum has a higher upside than Carter-Williams, Ford notes, pointing to Carter-Williams as one of the Sixers’ most appealing trade chips.

Michael Carter-Williams Wins Rookie Of The Year

May 5th, 2014 at 8:09am CST by Charlie Adams

MONDAY, 8:09am: Carter-Williams officially won the award, the NBA announced via press release. The Sixers point guard received 104 first-place votes out of a possible 124. Oladipo finished second with 16 first-place votes. Trey Burke was the third-place finisher, even though he only received one first-place vote, one fewer than Mason Plumlee. The other first-place vote went to Tim Hardaway Jr.

SATURDAY, 2:49pm: Michael Carter-Williams has been voted Rookie of the Year, a source tells Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. In what would otherwise be a season to forget for the Sixers, Carter-Williams gave Philadelphia fans hope for the future by putting up impressive averages of 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per contest. The victory doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as the only other realistic competition for the title came from Magic rookie Victor Oladipo.

Philly selected Carter-Williams with the 11th overall pick in last year’s draft, and he played a major role in the team’s surprising 3-0 start to the year. Although the club struggled mightily for the majority of the season, MCW’s ability to stuff a stat sheet excited fans around the league. He was able to notch two triple-doubles in 2013/14, becoming the first Sixers’ rookie in team history to accomplish such a feat.

The victory means Carter-Williams will join Allen Iverson as the only players in Sixers franchise history to win Rookie of the Year. There were five guards selected before Carter-Williams in last June’s draft, but the voters collectively agreed MCW put forth a better rookie campaign than any of them. He led all first-year players in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals.

Eastern Notes: Nurkic, Sixers, ‘Melo

April 27th, 2014 at 8:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers Michael Carter-Williams is the favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year award, but Tom Moore of Calkins Media believes that GM Sam Hinkie should examine the possibility of trading him for another lottery pick. Moore isn’t sure if Carter-Williams will become a star, and if Hinkie could land a top five pick for him, he believes that it would be worth considering.