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Fantasy Basketball: How Does Michael Carter-Williams benefit from the trade?

By Mike Marteny

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In one of the more surprising trade deadline deals, Michael Carter-Williams is packing his bags. Raise your hand if you saw this coming.

The reason why this is such a shock is because MCW is only 23 years old, and seemed to be the future for the 76ers. They had tanked for picks to put alongside and develop with him. Now part of that plan is gone, or so it seems.

Here are the trades that made up the deal:

I get this deal from the Bucks’ standpoint. They move a good guard in Knight for a potentially great one in MCW. Not only that, but they add depth to the frontcourt in Miles Plumlee and add a guy filled with upside in Tyler Ennis. Not a bad haul for Knight.

The presence of Plumlee muddles an already iffy frontcourt situation for the Bucks. They add another true center to Zaza Pachulia in the wake of the Larry Sanders buyout, but this all but kills John Henson’s fantasy value. Henson can now be dropped in all leagues smaller than 16 teams.

Plumlee likely won’t see any more court time than he did in Phoenix, but the Bucks are a more traditional team, which will likely lead to his minutes being more productive. Plumlee is worth an add in leagues of 12 teams or larger, or in deep roster leagues.

Ennis is still dynasty-only material as he likely won’t see any more time than he did in Phoenix. Not with Jerryd Bayless as the top backup. Bayless may actually see a decrease in value as MCW plays more minutes than Knight did.

I really like Brandon Knight running the point for the up-tempo Suns. His value immediately rises as his assits and points are likely to increase. I would make an offer for Knight in any league, especially in category leagues where you need help with assists.

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The prize of this deal though is Michael Carter-Williams. This makes perfect sense to me from Milwaukee’s standpoint. It’s Philadelphia that I’m trying to figure out. MCW was the 11th pick in the 2013 draft, and is already a proven NBA player. They trade him for a protected pick from the Lakers that they undoubtedly won’t get this year with the Lakers heading for a high lottery pick. That means it will be at least 2016 before they get the pick, and then they have to hit right on someone that will make an impact. I would also understand it more if the 76ers had a PG that they were trying to develop behind MCW. They don’t.

But the point of this is not to point out how dumb this trade looks for Philadelphia. It is to analyze the value of all the players changing hands. MCW’s value actually takes a hit by the move to Milwaukee. The Bucks are a playoff contender, and he has good players around him. He won’t have to do everything like he did in Philadelphia. That is better for him in real life, but not for his fantasy owners. His assists will likely increase some, but I expect a pretty big drop in scoring. This may be your last chance to sell high on MCW.

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    • However, if you need the assists, there is no reason not to hang onto him if you don’t get a good offer. He will still help your team. In category leagues he may become even more valueable as he is likely to take more good shots than just forcing things up. An increase in percentages would be worth the drop in scoring. You may be able to buy him at a reasonable price in category leagues. I would recommend doing that if you find an owner that hates his percentages. He could be a pleasant surprise down the stretch.

    As for the loser in all of this, the 76ers, they will likely be forced to go with Jakarr Sampson, Larry Drew, or the newly acquired Isaiah Canaan at PG, but more on that in that trade piece.

    Sampson and Drew are worth adding in all leagues of 12 or more teams just in case one of them ends up taking the job. Canaan can be added in nearly any league as he will likely get the first shot at replacing Carter-Williams.

    Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR throughout the next day or so as we examine all of the fantasy fallout from the trade deadline deals!

    Next: Will Miles Plumlee Gain Value?

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