LA Lakers Should Patiently Pursue Trade for Michael Carter-Williams
The Los Angeles Lakers owe it to themselves to check on the availability of Philadelphia 76ers point guard Michael Carter-Williams.
The Lakers don't need to take things any further than that, depending on what they hear. But they have to find out if the reigning Rookie of the Year really is on the trade block and how much it would take to pry him out of Philly.
On the surface, this seems like an odd time to inquire about Carter-Williams' availability.
While a weakened rookie crop may have assisted him in securing that individual hardware, his numbers were historically relevant nonetheless. Last season, he joined Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average at least 16 points, six rebounds and six assists as a rookie.
Critics will point to different areas to discredit Carter-Williams' stat sheet—Philly's league-leading pace or his 40.5 field-goal percentage and 3.5 turnovers—but a 16-6-6 stat line is special no matter how it's sliced. The only other player to hit those marks last season was four-time MVP LeBron James.
All of that said, Carter-Williams is not untouchable. Far from it, in fact.
According to Grantland's Zach Lowe, the Sixers have been shopping the lanky point guard for a while now and will continue to do so:
"They tried hard during the draft, but they couldn’t draw the trove they envisioned or guarantee that the player they wanted with an acquired pick would be there, per several league sources. Expect Philly to repeat the exercise. It’s not a shot at Carter-Williams, or even a signal that the Sixers are dying to trade him. He may well end up a long-term cog in Philly.
The team knows point guard is the most replaceable position in the league today, and it will seek out any deal that adds to its stockpile of high-value draft picks.
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If Carter-Williams' draft-night availability sounds familiar to Lakers fans, it should.
L.A. was rumored to be one of the teams engaged in trade talks with Philly leading up to the league's annual talent grab, per ESPN's Ryen Russillo:
Obviously, nothing ever materialized on that front.
The Lakers held on to the 40-year-old Steve Nash, who recently made his way back to the injury report by hurting himself while carrying his bags, per The Associated Press. L.A. also kept the No. 7 selection and used it on power forward Julius Randle, who now finds himself on a very short list of this franchise's pieces for the future.
The Sixers wound up sending Thaddeus Young to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an exchange that brought back a protected first-round pick, among other things. And, for the time being, they have kept Carter-Williams around perhaps in hope of unearthing better trade offers or just to get more of a feel for his future.
Philly doesn't seem desperate to deal him, nor should it be. The purpose of any rebuild is to find potential building blocks, and Carter-Williams' combination of size, statistics and skills at least gives him a shot to fill that role.
Then again, it's important to remember who his current employer is. Rules that may apply across the rest of the league don't necessarily hold the same weight with the Sixers.
"[General manager] Sam Hinkie has been bold since he took over the reins of the organization's roster rebuild well over a year ago...so nothing should come as a shock," wrote Philly.com's Michael Kaskey-Blomain.
The Sixers have their reasons for gauging his market value, none of which should keep the Lakers from giving him a look.
The point guard position might be packed to the brim with talent across the league, but that hasn't helped the Lakers find better than replacement-level options there.
Outside of the aforementioned Nash, L.A. also has Jeremy Lin, Ronnie Price and, in a pinch, rookie combo guard Jordan Clarkson.
Lin is more than two years removed from the "Linsanity" craze, and his ceiling seems to sit well below stardom. Price has never been more than a part-time player and has only shot above 39 percent from the field twice in his nine-year career. Clarkson is a project and might not even be a point guard at this level.
No matter where the Lakers set Carter-Williams' ceiling, it's hard to imagine they don't have it substantially higher than those of their current point guards.
Carter-Williams is not a perfect player.
He had a nightmarish season shooting the basketball in 2013-14. Of the 115 players to attempt 200-plus triples, he tied Josh Smith for the lowest three-point percentage (26.4). Carter-Williams ranked 86th out of 101 players to launch at least three pull-up jumpers per game with a 33.9 percent success rate on those looks, per SportVU data provided to NBA.com.
He also left plenty to be desired as a setup man. Among 47 qualified point guards, he had the fourth-lowest assist-to-turnover ratio (1.79), per ESPN.com.
All of that said, he just turned 23 this month. He has 70 total NBA games under his belt. He has a few obvious warts in his game, sure, but some tantalizing tools as well.
That might be unsettling for some, but it's exciting for others, as Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman explained, "given the promise he's shown and the upside that's attached to a 6'6" ball-handler who can pass, score and defend."
To his credit, Carter-Williams also acknowledges his weaknesses and wants to improve in those areas, per Calkins Media's Tom Moore:
Think about what the Lakers really need. Now, set aside coach Byron Scott's overly optimistic championship aspirations and Kobe Bryant's relentless competitive drive, and think again.
Think big picture. How quickly did things like promise and upside come to mind? Those are exactly what the Lakers should be after as they creep closer toward the post-Bryant era.
L.A. won 27 games last season. It could see some marginal improvement this time around but nothing capable of shaking up the Western Conference playoff picture. There are better teams ahead of it in the standings who won't be able to sneak into this ridiculously packed postseason field.
The Lakers need to be thinking about the future. While they would like to be competitive sooner than later, they seem to respect the process and time involved with rebuilding something substantial.
"Our goal is not to go 41-41," general manager Mitch Kupchak told USA Today's Sam Amick in April. "That's not our goal. Our goal is to be considerably better than that. And maybe we can do it in a year, or maybe it takes two or three years, OK? Any of those scenarios would be wonderful scenarios."
Turning the team around quickly takes luck, and that's what the Lakers would need to grab a prospect like Carter-Williams.
They don't have a deep collection of future assets, but there is a chance none of the teams potentially chasing Carter-Williams do either. Try to find a package of picks and/or prospects available from a team like the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks that would interest the Sixers. There simply isn't much out there.
That's why the Lakers need to open a line of communication with the Sixers and keep it open. L.A. doesn't have a ton of offer—a 2015 lottery protected pick from the Rockets, some future second-round picks or cheap prospects like Clarkson, Ed Davis and Ryan Kelly—but if the Sixers can't find better elsewhere, maybe they'll take a second look at what the Lakers could give.
Philly is under no pressure to trade Carter-Williams, but L.A. can feel just as relaxed in this pursuit. The Lakers don't need to break the bank for him; they just need to stick close enough to strike in case the Sixers slap a clearance sticker on him.
With point guard questions facing this franchise in the present and future, Carter-Williams could answer a lot of them if he maximizes his potential.
If the Lakers practice some patience and the Sixers don't ask for a fortune, this could be a big-time get for an organization that needs one in a bad way.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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