In a matter of a few days, former Syracuse Orange point guard Michael Carter-Williams will have his named called by NBA commissioner David Stern. It is then he will officially become an employee of some NBA franchise.
Wanting to find out if MCW would make a good employee Grantland's editor-in-chief Bill Simmons and ESPN basketball pal, Jalen Rose, sat down with the future top 10 pick for a job interview. First, here's how it went...
Now, lets talk about what we just witnessed.
1) A question about Syracuse players and man-to-man defense. DRINK!
2) The first clip Simmons and Rose breakdown is an MCW pull-up 3-pointer versus Providence. Let that sink in for a second.
3) Wait... We're watching Gruden Camp, but it is not John Gruden! I want Gruden in here picking apart MCW's game.
"I want to see you get drafted by the Boston Celtics, so Bill Simmons can write a 5,000-word column about how terrible you are." -- John Gruden.
"This is 6-foot-6, 185 now!"
"Ever seen Syracuse play? Every time their point guard screws up their coaches moves one day closer to retirement!"
4) Bill Simmons thinks MCW would be fun to play with.
5) Bill Simmons jokingly says he's going to pass out after learning MCW is a Boston Celtics fan. (MCW already knows how to win over Mr. Simmons and move up a few spots on his big board, if he has one.)
Meanwhile, over at Grantland, Brett Koremenos wrote a scouting report on MCW. Here's a bit of what he had to say.
According to Synergy Sports, the Syracuse guard used over 50 percent of his possessions to launch jumpers, a staggering amount for a player converting them at such middling efficiency.
(I don't care who you root for that is a crazy stat. No way I wold have guessed he shot that much.)
A big part of the reason Carter-Williams was forced into so many outside shots was his experience as a college player. With no illegal defense, a closer 3-point line, and a Syracuse team bereft of shooters, Carter-Williams was forced into shots that didn’t come with the same space he might find in the NBA. Whether or not the additional room to operate and higher caliber of players around him change his approach is a big question that will help decide how high his ceiling is.
(Good point.)
Another key factor will be how Carter-Williams fills out his frame. With a slight build, it will be difficult for the 21-year-old to handle himself against more mature and physical NBA guards, especially on drives to the basket.
Overall, the outlook for players with Carter-Williams’s skill set is still very bright.