(AP)

The player said it. His coach reiterated it.

Michael Carter-Williams, in the same breath, thanked media members who voted him the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and then followed it up by saying he’s unsatisfied with winning a personal award. The 76ers’ point guard spoke Monday about pining for more, not only individual greatness but aspirations of helping the Sixers reach the postseason.

That plan took a detour Tuesday, when the Sixers announced that Carter-Williams had undergone successful surgery to repair a labrum injury on his right shoulder. The team said there’s no timetable for the return of the 22-year-old.

What does the surgery mean for Carter-Williams?

For starters, it’s unlikely he will be available to participate in either of the summer leagues. (The Sixers are expected to field teams for the Orlando and Las Vegas leagues.) There’s no hard-and-fast recovery time for a labrum surgery recipient, but it generally requires two to four months. That timeline would put Carter-Williams in line to be ready for the opening of training camp.

Beyond the summer leagues, Carter-Williams can forget about fine-tuning his game. Monday, at MCW’s Rookie of the Year press conference, Sixers coach Brett Brown spoke at length about the summer months being the time when players make their most money, when they can watch gametape and focus on improving one or two skills that had been weaknesses in the past season.

For Carter-Williams, those well-documented weaknesses were his shooting percentage and his defense. Rehab on his surgically repaired shoulder will prevent Carter-Williams from hoisting the thousands of shots he was likely to take this summer. In addition, Brown’s desire to have Carter-Williams work on his on-the-ball defense and keeping players in front of him will have to be put on the back-burner as he turns his attention toward injury rehab.

The immediate ramifications of Carter-Williams’ surgery won’t be felt in the next few months. Instead, the will bear out when the Sixers’ season begins.

(AP)

MIAMI – The 76ers’ season has come to an end, but prep work for next season is beginning.

A 100-87 win over the Miami Heat Wednesday, closing out the regular season, only calls attention upon the next critical date on the Sixers’ calendar: the NBA Draft lottery, on May 20.

Sixers coach Brett Brown, who had grown accustomed to 50-win seasons in San Antonio said he’ll harbor some jitters that night. He’s fully aware of what hangs in the balance, with the Sixers holding the Nos. 2 and 10 spots in the lottery.

“That night, when you find out where you pick, is a nerve-wracking night for me,” Brown said, after the Sixers’ win. “I don’t remember the last time we’ve been kind of nervous. That night I’ll be nervous. It’s a really important night for the club. We’ll continue moving forward, no matter what happens. I’d be lying if I said it any other way – there will be some anxiety with me.”

Brown said he will follow the lead of Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, upon whom Brown laid the title “the architect of all of it.”

“I will be led by Sam,” Brown said. “I’ve gone through a very system-oriented process for the past 12 years with an organization that’s proven they’ve made way more good decisions than bad decisions. And that is Sam’s strength. I’ve got faith in Sam. It’s a very large reason why I’m here. I’m going to let him use me how he wants to use me. It’s my nature to immerse myself into it all and be highly opinionated.

“Somewhere out there (are) analytics people and Sam, as the architect of all of it, and coaches will all share in an opinion and the club will roll with it. Ultimately that’s Sam’s responsibility, why he was hired and I’m thrilled to be with him.”

The Sixers (19-63), who finished the year on their first winning streak since winning four in a row between Dec. 29-Jan. 4, will fly out of Miami tonight and conduct exit interviews with coaches and members of the media Thursday.

(AP)

MIAMI -- Tony Wroten accepts that he has a way of pairing highlight-reel assists with clunker passes that end up in the front row. It’s something Wroten said he’s worked with 76ers coach Brett Brown to curb.

“You pick your spots. Coach always tells me it’s a gift that not a lot of people in this league have,” Wroten said. “I just have to pick my spots and not always go for the home run and just try to get some singles – in baseball terms. That’s what he always says. This season, I learned a lot. I don’t try to make the home runs as much. I try to make the right play.”

Outside of his mistake-prone play – he averages 2.8 turnovers per game – Wroten has impressed in his first season with the Sixers.

Monday against Boston, Wroten had 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting. His seven turnovers nullified the four assists he turned in. Brown seems to think “a high number” of Wroten’s turnovers stem from the pace with which the 20-year-old plays.

Wroten said he’s gotten better at controlling his instinct to make the ‘go for it’ pass that will end up on ESPN’s SportsCenter, though the turnover totals might not reflect that alteration to his game. He said pulling back on that urge was difficult.

“In the beginning, obviously it was,” said Wroten, who’s under contract through next season. “That’s what I’ve been doing all my life. That’s what this process was.”

The Sixers (18-63) had Tuesday free from practice as they traveled to Miami, where they'll finish the regular season with Wednesday's game against the Heat.

(Christopher A. Vito)

76ers rookie Nerlens Noel is “100 percent,” he said, and while he’d be in favor of appearing in any of the team’s remaining five games, he understands the risk-reward proposition the team is facing with his health status.

Noel has devoted his season to development of his game at every level, as he has been unable to play while rehabbing from a March 2013 surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee. Sixers coach Brett Brown said Noel, who spoke to reporters following Tuesday’s practice, has participated in “a little” 5-on-5 scrimmaging with the team, as well as running plays in half-court sets.

Nonetheless, it’s not game play.

“There’s nothing like experiencing (games) first-hand,” Noel said.

While unavailable to play, Noel has been in the weight room, improving his bench-press limitations. He said he’s increased his vertical leap “by over three inches.” And Brown said Noel has put on “eight to 10 pounds.” Those are all pluses for the 19-year-old Kentucky product.

“Obviously, I do want to play. The 19-year-old in me that’s been sitting down on the sideline really wanted to get out there and show my abilities and be able to play ball,” Noel said. It’s been tough, but something I had to do. I’m definitely looking forward to playing.”

As for playing at some point this season, Noel said that has not been ruled out. His summer plans are not set in stone, either, he said, but he anticipates participating in the Sixers’ summer-league games.

If Noel has to miss the Sixers’ final five games, the next of which is Wednesday at Toronto, the 6-11 center said that would be understandable.

“Sam Hinkie is a great GM,” Noel said. “He put me in this position to play for this great city of Philadelphia. I definitely understand where he stands with the risk and the reward. That’s why I’ve been very eager through my competitiveness and wanting to play basketball again. I do understand.”

More to come on Noel…

(AP)

BOSTON – Maybe the 76ers circulated a memo throughout the locker room. Maybe they convened before Friday’s game, a 111-102 win over the Boston Celtics, and agreed upon a singular word to best describe Henry Sims.

“Aggressive,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said, carefully selecting the identical adjective that two others in the locker room had used in regard to Sims.

The Sixers big man scored a career-high 24 points and added nine rebounds in the team’s victory, their second in four games. Tonight, against visiting Brooklyn, they’ll go for their first winning streak since claiming four straight from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.

The most-telling stat for Sims, beyond his point total, were his attempts from the foul line. The 6-10, 248-pounder went 14-for-18 at the foul line, including a 6-for-6 effort in the fourth quarter.

“He was in a bull mode, a really aggressive attack mode,” Brown said of Sims, who came to the Sixers as part of the trade-deadline deal that cast off Spencer Hawes. “He’d bury his head and try to get to the rim at all costs. In the first half, I thought he’d rush things when he was at a block. When he turns and faces things, he can catch and go, and play out of a dribble-handoff game at the top of the key area. He has a surprising first step and a fantastic mentality. With that it produced an aggression attack.”

Sims has been on a roll of late. He’s had a double-figure scoring total in seven of his last eight games, during which he’s also had two 20-point games. He’s also been a 77.3-percent shooter from the free-throw line. Not bad for a guy who shot 57.1 percent while with Cleveland.

When asked whether he’d ever had 18 attempts from the foul line in a single game at any level, Sims said no. (“If I did, I’d have had 40 (points),” he said.)

“Better opportunity here. More shots going up, more opportunities to get to the line,” Sims said. “I feel like I’m playing my game and Coach notices it. I’m still coming in every day, defensively and rebounding. Those are the two big things for me. Everything else is just extra.”

Thaddeus Young is seeing what Sims is doing.

“Very aggressive,” Young said, electing to use the operative word. “He went out there and played really, really aggressive. That’s the Henry I like to see all the time. When he’s aggressive, he’s always in attack mode. I encourage him all of the time to just continue to stay aggressive and be confident within yourself.”

Another standout from the win over the Celtics was Elliot Williams.

The reserve guard scored 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting overall and a 2-for-3 effort from 3-point range in 26 minutes. In his last 10 outings, Williams has shined. He’s averaged 8.4 points in 21.1 minutes per game, while shooting .484 from the field. Then compare those numbers against his season totals: 61 appearances, 5.6 points, 16.5 minutes, .396 field-goal percentage.