MCW, Noel to take court together

A COUPLE pieces of this big puzzle that general manager Sam Hinkie has to assemble over the next few years seem likely to come together Thursday night in Dallas.

Rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams is set to take the court against the Mavericks, just over 6 months since he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shooting shoulder. And for the first time as pros, MCW will be paired with Nerlens Noel, who is coming off an ankle injury that sidelined him for two games.

The former AAU teammates from the Boston area haven't been on the same court in an organized game for about 4 years, but the day is approaching when they can suit up together. Both were acquired by the Sixers on draft night in June 2013, but Noel sat out the year to recover from knee surgery while Carter-Williams accumulated an impressive first season. Now they hope their games can grow together.

"We haven't played together in a while so I'm looking forward to that," said Carter-Williams, who is carrying 14 extra pounds of muscle a year after averaging 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds. "I'm just looking forward to getting back with all these guys, getting on the court and being in the situation of a game with them. [With Noel] I can get him the ball in spots where he's comfortable, whether it's an ally-oop or right near the rim where he can dunk. He helps everybody out with, of course, blocked shots and that leads to transition. I think we can all feed off of each other."

How they'll be used right away hasn't yet been determined, as MCW will have to get his game legs back. But at least fans of the team and of the rebuilding process can watch him do that alongside Noel.

"Michael's ability to get to the basket and create for others [is big]," Noel said. "He is incredibly unselfish, he just has to find that lane. It might take a minute for him to get the feel back and be able to find us on the lobs and whatnot, but it's just a matter of time. We've missed him. He's going to bring leadership and intensity. He'll make everybody better. Ever since we got drafted on draft day we've been talking about it. It's a special time coming. It took a while, but it came so we're going to make the best of it and continue to progress as players."

The Sixers announced yesterday that they had signed forward Drew Gordon from their NBA Development League affiliate Delaware 87ers and waived forward Malcolm Thomas. Thomas may need surgery to repair a left knee effusion. Gordon averaged 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in six preseason games for the Sixers.

"Today was a unique day for us that we haven't had in a while where we had Michael in, we had Nerlens back, we had Drew in," said coach Brett Brown. "We had 12 healthy bodies, we could scrimmage normally. It was sort of an unusual, good day."

Gordon, the brother of Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, was surprised by his promotion, especially the way he found out.

"I wasn't expecting anything," Gordon said. "My job at that time was playing for the 87ers and that's where my focus was. Now my main focus is playing with this team once again. Saturday, K.J. [head trainer Kevin Johnson] asked if I was ready for my physical and I asked him 'What physical?' He said, 'You obviously haven't gotten the news, yet.' I figured if I was going to take the physical, that's a good thing. Sunday I was told not to go to New York with the 87ers and at that time I kind of figured I was getting pulled up again."