NBA Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers could trade Michael Carter-Williams after drafting Dante Exum

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Michael Carter-Williams was recently awarded as the recipient of the 2013-2014 NBA Rookie of the Year award after a very impressive debut campaign with a fledgling roster around. However, there is a rumor circulating that he could be on his way out of Philadelphia if everything falls into place and the 76ers have the opportunity to draft Australian guard Dante Exum.

In an NBA Draft feature about Exum ($), ESPN’s Chad Ford has this nugget concerning the Philadelphia 76ers and their future plans:

"The Philadelphia 76ers are Exum fans as well, and if Wiggins is off the board, Exum will be in the mix. They think Exum and Carter-Williams could play together in the backcourt, although it would not be a very good shooting tandem. I think the more obvious fit comes if they trade Carter-Williams, an idea I’m told they have bounced around."

To be honest, this seems like one of those “perfect storm” scenarios, but if the Sixers are indeed high on Exum, there would be some legitimate basketball concerns with pairing him with Carter-Williams. First, there would be no defined positional structure if both players were in the same backcourt, and without a knockdown shooter in the duo, that could pose strategic issues offensively.

Still, most NBA scouts would salivate at the athletic duo from a length standpoint, and it would certainly be must-see TV if Exum and Carter-Williams were paired together. In addition, Philadelphia would have to a) trade back, or b) willingly pass on one of the trio of Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid in order to select Exum, and the entire thing screams “rumor” and little else.

Because the Sixers hold the third pick and nearly infinite flexibility from a roster standpoint, the possibilities are endless, and that makes them a team to closely monitor in the coming weeks.