If you were wondering whether or not the Sixers are still in tank mode, today probably reassured you of the answer to that question. Though the team has shown signs of improvements recently, Sam Hinkie made it clear that some young guys on the Sixers weren't worth building around.
Enter Michael Carter-Williams and K.J. McDaniels. Or shall we say, exit Michael Carter-Williams and K.J. McDaniels.
First, let's take a look at the three deals the Sixers completed today:
- Philadelphia trades Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee as part of a three-team deal. The Sixers receive the Lakers' top-5 protected first-round pick that they owed to the Suns.
- Philadelphia trades K.J. McDaniels to Houston in exchange for PG Isaiah Canaan and a second-round pick.
- Philadelphia acquires JaVale McGee, a first-round pick and the rights to Chu Chu Maduabum from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol
Now, onto the details:
Rumors had been swirling about MCW for a while now, as he becomes the fifth player in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year one season just to be traded the next season, joining Chris Webber, Adrian Dantley, Terry Dischinger and Ray Felix. MCW tallied three triple-doubles this season and averaged 15 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 41 games. Over his 111 game tenure in Philadelphia, MCW averaged 16.8 points seven assists, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Needless to say, Carter-Williams was very surprised at the move, but showed his appreciation for the Sixers via Twitter.
I can't lie I'm shocked. I love this city thank you for everything. I can honestly say I gave it my all. I wish Philly nothing but the best
— Michael Carter-Willi (@MCW1) February 19, 2015
Here are the details of the MCW deal. As a part of a three-team trade with the Bucks, Suns and Sixers, Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis head to Milwaukee. The Suns get Brandon Knight. The Sixers receive the Lakers' top-5 protected first round pick in the upcoming draft. The pick is top-3 protected inf 2016 and 2017 if it isn't conveyed in 2015. It becomes unprotected in 2018.
Review: I think the concept of trading Carter-Williams was more realistic than it actually happening. Shows how much I know. Anyways, we all know that the Sixers had been shopping MCW before, so in reality the move shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Simply, it didn't seem like Sam Hinkie believed MCW was a player he could build this team around and traded him while his value was still high. It is a similar concept to the Phillies and what they didn't do with Domonic Brown. Rather than trading him while he had value, they hung on to him and watched him struggle big time. Sure, trading MCW is confusing to many, but his offense lacked plenty to be desired. I think it is too early in his career to deem this trade as a win or lose, but personally I am sad to see MCW leave the Sixers.
The Sixers also traded K.J. McDaniels to Houston in a separate deal that will bring Isaiah Canaan and a second-round pick to Philadelphia. K.J. averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 52 games this season for the Sixers. Last week, we took a look at the Sixers options with McDaniels moving forward when it came to free agency, but it looks as if Sam Hinkie had other ideas, opting to deal the Clemson alum to the Rockets. McDaniels heads to Houston ranking third in the rookie class with 1.31 blocks per game while he also is in the top ten in steals, rebounds and field goal percentage. The player the Sixers got in return for K.J., Isaiah Canaan, has played in 25 games for the Rockets this season (nine starts). He's averaging 6.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in just under 15 minutes per game.
Review: While I don't know much of anything about Isaiah Canaan, I think the Sixers take a significant hit defensively with the McDaniels trade. Though K.J. seemed to lose a step or two when it came to shooting, he protected the rim with reckless abandon and had the ability to create some very exciting plays. This deal makes sense if Hinkie didn't think they were going to sign K.J. to a deal in the offseason, but the trade also leaves the door open for the Sixers to bring him back. Brett Brown has come a long way in preaching defense and McDaniels, along with Nerlens Noel, showed that he fit into Brown's scheme on the defensive side of things.
The first trade to involve the Sixers today involved JaVale McGee and the Nuggets. Denver shipped McGee to Philadelphia along with the first-round pick the Nuggets had from the Thunder via the trade that involved both Timofey Mozgov and Dion Waiters earlier on in the season. It seems as if the Sixers won't have to really give up anything for this deal, but rather absorb McGee's salary as the cost of that Thunder first-round pick. JaVale earns $11.25 million this year and $12 million next season. With the Sixers nearly $15 million below the cap floor, it doesn't really mean too much. Whether or not the Sixers decide to keep McGee or waive him remains to be seen. In 17 games off the bench for the Nuggets this season, the 27-year-old seven-footer is averaging 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. During the 2011-12 season with the Wizards and Nuggets, McGee averaged 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
The first-round pick that the Sixers got in the deal with the Nuggets is top-18 protected. If the season concluded today, the Thunder would pick 16th, meaning the pick would shift to the 2016 draft. Sixers fans have to hope that Oklahoma City gets hot since they currently sit on the outside of the playoff picture. Meanwhile, the pick is top-15 protected in 2016 and 2017 and it turns into 2nd round picks if not conveyed by 2017. The deal also included a pair of foreign players. The Nuggets got the rights to Cenk Akyol while the Sixers received the rights to a forward from Nigeria, Chu Chu Maduabum.
Review: The Sixers are absorbing salary and receive a first-round pick. Not too much to see here. Great work by Sam Hinkie here. There's still a fair chance the Sixers will get to use this pick in the upcoming draft as well.
BBall Breakdown does a nice job of breaking down all of the future draft picks the Sixers own as of right now. Here's a look at possibilities for the 2015 draft.
Their own 1st (owed to Boston, but protected 1 through 14 – if not conveyed their own 2015 and 2016 seconds go instead)
1st from L.A. Lakers, possibly (protected 1 through 5 in 2015, 1 through 3 in both 2016 and 2017, and unprotected in 2018)
1st from Miami (top 10 protected; sure to be conveyed)
1st from Oklahoma City, probably (protected 1 through 18 in 2015, then 1 through 15 in both 2016 and 2017; if still not conveyed, OKC’s 2018 and 2019 second rounders go instead)
2nd from Golden State (unprotected)
2nd from Denver, probably (if Denver finish with a worse record than Minnesota, which they won’t, then Minnesota’s 2nd is conveyed instead)
2nd from Houston (unprotected)
2nd from New Orleans (unprotected)
2nd from Orlando (unprotected)
The Sixers own two picks in 2016 and 2017, four in both 2018 and 2019 and three in 2010. If everything went the Sixers way through the rest of the season, they could be sitting pretty with picks at No. 1, 6, 11 and 19. It seems more likely that they'll only get to use two of those selections this year with the first-rounder from Miami likely to be conveyed. That along with their own first rounder should potentially net them more young talent that they can build around in the future.
With the departure of both MCW and McDaniels, one would certainly hope that we only have to hit the reset button on this rebuild once.
In other news Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Sixers have signed PG Tim Frazier to a second 10-day contract. In three games with the Sixers during his first 10-day contract, Frazier averaged five points, 4.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists.
