Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks were one of the most surprising teams in the NBA this past season, with a 26-win improvement over 2013-14 and a playoff berth in Jason Kidd’s first season as head coach. A promising group of young players will be supplemented with the 17th overall pick in Thursday night’s draft, but Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times is reporting that the Bucks are “exploring ways to move up” and may be willing to include guard Michael Carter-Williams in a package to acquire a top-10 pick.
Carter-Williams was named 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year after a solid first season with the Philadelphia 76ers (16.7 points, 6.3 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game), but he was sent to the Bucks as part of a three-team trade in February as he was dealing with foot and toe issues.
In 25 regular season games with Milwaukee, Carter-Williams averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He boosted his overall field goal percentage with the Bucks (42.9 percent; 38 percent with the 76ers last season), but he struggled from three-point range (14.3 percent) and he did not make a three-pointer in six playoff games (five attempts).
Any criticism of Carter-Williams centers on shooting (25.2 percent from three-point range over two seasons) and being turnover-prone (3.7 turnovers per came during his career). Both are well-founded, but Carter-Williams’ Player Efficiency Rating (16.3) and True Shooting Percentage (49.6 percent) were better during his time with the Bucks last season and 25 games is a solid sample size overall.
The thought of adding a top-10 pick in this year’s draft sounds great on the surface, but beyond the top few prospects there are plenty of question marks that have serious bust potential and it’s not worth giving up significant assets to get such a player. Carter-Williams would benefit from continuing a relationship with Kidd, as he tries to become a more efficient point guard, and he is a former lottery pick (11th overall in 2013) with plenty of untapped potential at age-23 (24 in October).
The Bucks don’t need to make a splash this summer to be a playoff contender again next season, but the front office can hardly be blamed for making a big move if one is within reach. A trade on or before Thursday night can’t be ruled out, but Carter-Williams should not be the player that is moved in an effort to get a lottery pick.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
