The Philadelphia 76ers, in serious rebuild mode and making decisions as to which players will be their building blocks for the future, announced today that they have exercised the third-year options on the contracts for Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel as well as the fourth-year option on Tony Wroten’s contract.
None of this is a surprise, as Carter-Williams and Noel are two of their prime young prospects, while Wroten has shown impressive skills lately.
The Sixers are focused on the future, gathering losses and lottery picks.
According to CSN Philly, “By exercising the deals, Noel is slotted to make $3.5 million as the No. 6 pick in the 2013 draft while Carter-Williams, the No. 11 pick, is due 2.4 million. Wroten, drafted by Memphis as the No. 25 pick in 2012, is set to earn $2.2 million in the last year of the deal.”
Carter-Williams was named the 2013-14 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, joining Allen Iverson as the only players to win the award in franchise history. He also joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only rookies in league history to average at least 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
Noel made his NBA debut in the Sixers season opener at Indiana on Wednesday night and had a game-high tying 10 rebounds along with three blocks. The 20-year-old became the first player with at least 10 boards and three blocks in his debut since Dwight Howard in 2004.
Wroten started the season opener for the Sixers and had 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Last season, the 21-year-old joined Calvin Murphy as the only players in NBA history to average at least 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in fewer than 25.0 minutes per game.
