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Michael Carter-Williams Undergoes Successful Shoulder Surgery

MCW won the NBA's rookie of the year award yesterday, then celebrates by going under the knife.

Ow, don't reach that far, you might hurt yourself.
Ow, don't reach that far, you might hurt yourself.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Carter-Williams accepted his rookie of the year trophy, winning in something of a blowout, and in the process may have blown out his shoulder. Okay, so that didn't happen (we think). But he did have surgery on a previously unreported shoulder problem on Tuesday morning, per a press release from the Sixers website.

Other than announcing that the surgery was successful (phew) and no timetable has been set for a return, the 76ers offered no details. Sam Hinkie offered a statement presumably from a luxurious hotel as he searches far and wide around the badlands of Australia for Dante Exum, as speculated by Michael Levin (nevermind that Exum is training in LA, which means Levin is much closer to him than Hinkie).

In all seriousness, this is a bummer and a potential setback for MCW's development. Per Jake Fischer, who had a quick conversation with a doctor about the surgery, recovery time is typically between 2-4 months. We'll likely have more analysis from Sohil, our resident doctor-in-training, on this soon, but the time frame means that Carter-Williams is questionable at best for NBA Summer League(s), which start in July. Rumors have it that the Sixers will play in both Orlando and Las Vegas.

Liberty Ballers will send a contingent to Vegas, and Fischer should be in Orlando to cover it all. It might just be a little less like the real thing, as basically the entire Sixers roster should be eligible to play. Here's hoping that MCW will be healthy come October. That's what really matters, after all. We'll have more analysis on this soon.

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