Furkan Korkmaz Makes it Impossible to Fail in Coming Drafts

The Philadelphia 76ers have players stashed away in Europe, such as Furkan Kormaz, that make it impossible to fail in upcoming NBA Drafts.

The Philadelphia 76ers were the clear winners of this year’s NBA Draft. After they selected Ben Simmons with the first overall pick — a win by itself — they took Timothe Luwawu at 24th overall, which was a huge steal at that late in the draft.

Both of those players will likely debut as rookies for the Sixers this year. They also selected Furkan Korkmaz at 26th overall in the first round of this year’s draft, but he will not play this year. Korkmaz is one of the many international players selected in this year’s draft that will be stashed away overseas to develop for a few season without taking a roster spot.

Korkmaz is a solid young player — who notably plays on the same Turkish team as Dario Saric, who is a former stashed player that will debut for the Sixers this season — that is still very raw in his talents. Allowing him to develop for a few more seasons with the Anadolu Efes will be beneficial for him personally, and the Sixers as a team.

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Korkmaz may come in next year or the year after, depending on a few things. First is the buyout price — currently it’s between $1.5 million and $2 million, a large number — it needs to come down. Second is how he develops as a player. He is young and has yet to get very much pro playing time. We’ll see that upped in the coming years as the Efes aim to get him to the NBA.

Korkmaz’s drafting sets the Sixers up as winners already in coming drafts without them ever making a pick. Of course, he won’t be the only thing making their drafts a success, but he allows them to have very unique strategies moving forward.

Korkmaz will be an incoming rookie in the next few seasons. On top of the debut of Korkmaz, the team also will have the ability to add two first round picks next season (unless the Lakers’ pick falls in the top-3 overall, they also can take the better of their pick or the Sacramento Kings’ pick), and then a first round pick in 2018. The following year, the Sixers retain their own pick as well as the Kings’ first round pick.*

*Future draft pick information courtesy of the extensive list Derek Bodner has on his website.

So, what’s the point?

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The point is that the Sixers have several draft picks to use as they please over the next few years (a possible four first-rounders in the next two seasons) and they also have the draft rights to Korkmaz.

So, not only is this year huge for rookies on the Sixers, (Simmons, Embiid, Saric, and Luwawu are all expected to make their debut) but the coming years are important as well.

The Kings show no signs of being great anytime soon. They are likely to be a lottery team. Despite the great pieces the Sixers are adding, they will also likely be a lottery team next year. That gives the Sixers two teams’ worth of ping-pong balls next season to get the top overall pick, and then again the year after, as they own their own and the Kings’ pick.

Imagine if the Sixers are able to get just one extra top-5 overall pick in the next two seasons to add onto a roster that boasts Simmons and Embiid with one or two years of NBA experience. The thought of that is incredible.

Oh, and back to Korkmaz. Korkmaz is an added bonus to that, giving the Sixers another rookie to add onto their already easy-to-win draft situations. With the team all set to add Furkan in the next two seasons, and the ability to have several more lottery picks, the next few years of drafts and rookies should be enticing, to say the least.

The team can bring Korkmaz on as a foundation for their drafts, and only add onto that as the draft plays out.

Next: 76ers Free Agency Buys Time to Develop Youth

Yes, the team may have to add more veterans in the future to off-set the development process, but it may be worth it.