Rockets are trading Michael Carter-Williams today (UPDATE: Dealt to Chicago)

Chamillionaire · Jan 11, 2019

Hard to feel sorry for anyone making millions of dollars playing basketball. He'll be ok.

Roc Paint · Jan 11, 2019

Easy come, easy go

alethios · Jan 11, 2019

Deuce said: ↑

Consecutive games against the NBA’s first-place teams loomed. A months-long turnaround was in full swing. The Rockets, riding the league’s best record since Dec. 11, looked more together than they had at any previous point in the season.

Then Michael Carter-Williams received a phone call in the locker room while the team prepared for practice.

The Rockets informed him that he had been traded to the Bulls - an unabashed salary dump to reduce Houston’s projected luxury tax.

It is not uncommon for a player to get this kind of news in front of his teammates. That did not make it any less awkward for Carter-Williams and the group, which was sad though not surprised to see him basically get cut from the roster.

“It’s embarrassing,” Austin Rivers said. “He had to go around saying, ‘Bye,’ to everybody.”

“I always liked him as a player,” Brandon Knight said, “and even more as a person.”

Despite fading from a hopefully versatile backup point guard to a ghost on the bench, Carter-Williams had buried his complaints in favor of cracking up teammates with comic relief.

“He was the funniest teammate I've ever had in my life,” Rivers said. “He just had a daughter. He’s got a wife. He’s trying to do well for his family. It’s not fun to see someone go through that, let alone someone you like a lot as a friend.”

The sight also stung Rivers and Knight because the three point guards have traveled a similar rocky path in the NBA. They were born within 10 months of each other. They shared circles and peers in the AAU circuit. They were lottery pick selections in their drafts.

They occupied the up-and-coming class of point guards in 2013-2014. Rivers played understudy to Jrue Holiday with the Pelicans. Knight steered the Milwaukee Bucks. The 6-foot-6-inch Carter-Williams was named Rookie of the Year, the only bright spot on the 76ers.

That the talented troika could wind up on the same team seemed unimaginable at the time.

Rivers raised his eyebrows and said: “I would have been like, ‘We've got a lot of weapons.’”

Instead, they backfired over the next six seasons. Knight wasted his best efforts on a tanking Suns team that benched him for its final 23 games. Then Knight tore the ACL in his left knee and went almost two years before easing back on to the court. The Clippers tried raising Rivers, but playing for his father, coach Doc Rivers, caused more drama than comfort.

Carter-Williams developed the reputation of a rookie sensation turned roster dead weight. Teams envisioned reapplying or reinventing him until they grew tired of waiting for him to rejuvenate.

“Your career, or where you end up, a lot of times we don't dictate those things, right?” Knight said. “Things can change very quickly. We've all been on different teams, different situations, and we just happened to land here.”

The guards would get traded three times apiece — Carter-Williams and Knight were shuffled in the same three-time deal Feb. 19, 2015 — appear on 14 teams combined and briefly play on the Rockets together.

“A lot has changed,” Rivers said. “For better or for worse, I guess.”

Carter-Williams signed with Houston, his fourth team in as many seasons, for the veteran’s minimum in July. In December, he totaled 19 minutes and 12 DNPs.

The Rockets plucked Rivers off waivers on Christmas Eve.

“A big thing about this league is the situation you’re in,” Carter-Williams said on Dec. 27. “Sometimes it is an opportunity that you need to get. Some guys get that opportunity. Some guys don’t.”

He and Rivers had played on the same AAU team. He rekindled their friendship quickly, even when he realized that his chances were over when Rivers arrived.

“He told me when I came here,” Rivers said after the trade, hanging his head.

After getting bounced from the Wizards to the Suns to the waiver wire, Rivers became a crunch-time hybrid guard for Houston in less than two weeks. He averaged 41 minutes, 14 points and 41 percent on 3-point shooting in his last five games.

He attempted 7.4 3-pointers per game in that span. Carter-Williams never tried more than six in any game the last four seasons.

“Michael wasn't really a shooting guard, and now the league wants shooting guards,” Rivers added. “Fortunately, I fit into the evolution of the game. Everything I do well is what we're doing, but that's just by chance.”

Knight went 666 days between NBA games. He still is mending his knee. He has been hesitant in 11 games.

Knight had starred for Kentucky in the Final Four at Reliant Stadium in 2011. He averaged 18 points on 42 percent shooting for his last three full seasons in the NBA.

But he does not like to relive his past or fantasize about making the playoffs for the first time in his career.

“For me, not playing in two years, it’s about, ‘All right, how can I get back to full strength?’” Knight said. “You miss being the guy. (But) like I said, you have to adapt to your situation. Right now, I live in the moment.”

Knight will make $14.6 million this season, making him ideal for balancing out salaries in trades that general manager Daryl Morey might make. The usually loquacious executive did not want to elaborate on how it is that three lottery point guards wound up as ancillary additions, with one of them being worth more to cut than to keep.

The Rockets included cash in the deal with the Bulls, meaning they paid for a team to take Carter-Williams. Chicago immediately waived the six-year guard.

Prior to the trade, he had insisted that he refined his shot enough to stay in the NBA. He had made 25 percent of his 3s before arriving in Houston and raised that to a career-high 37 percent. He shot sparingly, but he made them count: he swished the Rockets’ record-setting 26th 3-pointer in a game on Dec. 20.

“You don't go from being Rookie of the Year to not being a good player,” Knight said.

The award has buoyed and burdened Carter-Williams. His rookie averages — 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.9 steals — set a standard that he has not met since.

“That's the hardest thing for him,” Rivers said, “because everybody's like, ‘Weren't you the Rookie of the Year?’”

Unlike Knight, Carter-Williams lets memories trickle in about the 76ers team that wanted the ball in his hands in ways that the Rockets did not.

“Of course,” Carter-Williams said. “I loved the freedom that I had. I got to play 30-plus minutes every night.

“But I'm at the point where it’s not like I miss it. I want to be the best player I can be. I'm better than what I was when I was a rookie. I'm happy with that. I've grown. I've matured. My all around game is better.”

He could not prove that in Houston. Staring across the room at a vacated locker, third-string center Marquese Chriss recalled Carter-Williams saying his goodbyes.

“It all happened real fast,” Chriss said. “It did impact me hard. I felt like I lost a friend. He became like a brother to me.”

Chriss was a 2016 lottery pick. He came with Knight in a trade from Phoenix to Houston. He is 21, in his third season, and has gotten into just 10 games.

He learned from Carter-Williams.

“It’s a reality check that it can be taken away any day,” Chriss said. “Just be gracious and grateful.”

Some guys get the opportunity they need. Some don’t. Carter-Williams, a free agent, is waiting for a phone call.

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I did not need to read that - now I really feel bad for MCW

rockbox · Jan 11, 2019

MCW needs a Horry like epiphany. If you are going to go down, go down shooting the ball. He shoots decently, he just needs to be confident in his shot and let them fly when open.

DaDakota · Jan 12, 2019

He needs to work on his jump shot, if he can learn to shoot he can make millions, this is 100% on him.

DD

jcf · Jan 12, 2019

alethios said: ↑

I did not need to read that - now I really feel bad for MCW
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Really want Knight to do well now too.

pmac · Jan 12, 2019

DaDakota said: ↑

He needs to work on his jump shot, if he can learn to shoot he can make millions, this is 100% on him.

DD
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I actually don't the shooting was the main problem. I think Morey envisioned him in "the Livingston role", versatile big PG that has some weaknesses. The problem was more that a) his defense was poor and lacked discipline and b) he was completely out of control on drives much like Ennis (and Brewer before them). He never really emerged as a reliable playmaker or defender and didn't really seem to take advantage of his size in any way. My guess is that he's played PG previously partially because he is incapable of playing other positions. He does have good quickness and ball handling for his size but his passing and decision making is mediocre.

I don't think he becomes a sharp shooter any time soon. His next chance will be if he can transform himself into a stopper. He has all the tools for it.

YOLO · Jan 7, 2020

YOLO · Jun 3, 2020

TilmanFinancialWindfall · Jun 3, 2020

YOLO said: ↑

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Great news for Tilman! Won't have to pay salary for any new rookie class in 2020. LTS for da win

Jontro · Jun 3, 2020

moneez saved for tillmen is always a good thing. I'm happy for the boss

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Rockets are trading Michael Carter-Williams today (UPDATE: Dealt to Chicago)

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Rockets are trading Michael Carter-Williams today (UPDATE: Dealt to Chicago)

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