Michael Carter-Williams selected in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Sixers.

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Michael Carter-Williams with the 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Carter-Williams was an early entry candidate for the draft following his sophomore season at Syracuse.

Sixers, if all goes well, may have pulled off the deal of the draft…and that is a big if.

Sixers new General Manager Sam Hinkie would only speak about Carter-Williams and not the reported trade he made with the New Orleans Pelicans sending All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans in exchange for a 2014 first round draft pick in exchange for Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, who is rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered last February and reportedly will not be able to play until the end of December.

“This is a player that, in time, we can really grow with,” Hinkie said in a press conference early Tuesday morning. “And one we are obviously excited about.”

Pelicans general manager Dell Demps drafted Kentucky center Nerlens Noel sixth overall then promptly shipped him and a first-round pick in 2014 to the Sixers for Holiday and a second-round pick Thursday night. Demps or Hinkie couldn’t and didn’t comment on the deal until it is officially approved by the NBA about July 11, when the league’s new fiscal year starts. But Holiday’s agent, Tony Dutt, confirmed the trade to several news organizations.

Carter-Williams (6-6, 185) averaged 11.8 points, a team-high 7.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and a team-high 2.8 steals for the Orange this past season en route to earning All-Big East Second Team honors. His 111 steals set a school record for a single season.

During Syracuse’s run to the Final Four, Carter-Williams had a career-high 24 points against No. 1 seeded Indiana in the Sweet 16. He tallied 10 double-doubles over the course of the season, including 15 points and a career-high 16 assists vs. Monmouth.

Carter-Williams, in a conference call, said he was looking forward to playing with Noel, a long time friend and AAU teammate. In fact they were standing next to each other at the draft in New York, but Noel could not comment pending approval of the Holiday trade.

“I’m real happy we get to play together,” Carter-Williams said. “We talked about living next door to each other and we’re just excited. ”

In the second round the Sixers drafted point guard Nate Wolters out of South Dakota State at No. 38 and at  No. 54 took PF Arsalan Kazemi out of Oregon.