Furkan Korkmaz Fits the Philadelphia 76ers’ Needs
Furkan Korkmaz fills a role the Philadelphia 76ers desperately need filled.
The Philadelphia 76ers‘ goal heading into next season is relatively clear. After four years of intensive rebuilding and a commitment to asset accumulation, the Sixers are ready to compete in the Eastern Conference — and that means building up a functional roster around their core pieces.
Philadelphia 76ers
With the frontcourt logjam mostly solved — although Jahlil Okafor‘s presence still casts a cloud over the franchise in that regard — the Sixers can focus their efforts towards Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, as well as how they plan to split the rotational load between the trio. With Robert Covington proving his worth as a starter and Saric’s defensively-limited game being best suited for a reserve role, we’ll likely see the rotations play out accordingly. How Brett Brown and the front office fill in the remaining holes, though, remains undetermined.
While Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and, to a lesser degree, Justin Anderson have solidified themselves into roles come next season, the minute distribution and final outlook for their backcourt is difficult to peg at this stage in the process. There’s a more-than-solid chance that we see Philadelphia adding a guard via the draft, while free agency could yield a handful of contributors as well.
With that said, though, there is another quality option who has proven his worth overseas — Furkan Korkmaz.
While Korkmaz was unable to make his debut in 2016 due to financial reasons in relation to his $2 million buyout with Anadolu Efes — the Sixers were only allowed to pay up to $650,000 worth — an NBA arrival this summer could be more easily attainable, according to Keith Pompey.
The 19-year-old Turk won the ‘Best Young Player’ Award in the Basketball Champions League, where he averaged 10.4 points per game for Banvit, a Turkish club. He also shot 48.8 percent from deep during his 10 games with the team.
At 6-8, Korkmaz was lauded primarily for his sharpshooting coming into the 2016 draft, where many — including myself — projected him higher than 26th on draft night. While his frame still needs to fill out, he’s one of the class’ more fluid shooters from deep, while also boasting highly under-appreciated athleticism, to boot.
With impressive length and a quick, concise stroke, Korkmaz does a nice job of freeing himself up for shots when operating off the ball. He moves well around screens and has notable upside as a slasher as well. With a Sixers team that loves moving it’s guards around screens and through dribble handoffs a la Joel Embiid and (presumably) Ben Simmons, there’s reason to believe he’d be afforded plenty of good looks when functioning in Brett Brown’s offense.
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His size and release point allow him to get off shots with very little room to operate, as he can rise above smaller defenders and get off shots against quick closeouts.
He has also shown nice promise as a passer, especially when he’s en route to the basket. His vision is especially advanced for a younger wing of his stature, as he makes decisive plays off of cuts and reads passing lanes surprisingly well off of drives.
Here, he does a nice job of threading the needle underneath the basket, utilizing the leverage of his drive to exploit the resulting passing lane and find his teammate underneath.
Swingmen who are solid off the ball with a high-I.Q. approach to the game not only fit the trends of the NBA as a whole, but are especially needed for a Sixers team that — despite finishing in the top 10 in 3-pointers attempted last season — was in the bottom 5 teams in 3-point field goal percentage. They’re a team that, systematically, is built to space the floor for Ben Simmons and work through Joel Embiid, yet they lack the personnel to do so on a consistent basis. Nik Stauskas has wavered in his consistency, while Gerald Henderson‘s game has been more of an inefficient spark plug than a sustainable aid towards success.
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Depending on how both the lottery and ensuing draft selection(s) pan out, there’s a chance that Korkmaz — albeit undeveloped — could step into a sizable role should he make his way overseas next season. He’s an ideal perimeter threat to cultivate as the Sixers’ go-to shooter, while his upside lies well beyond that.
Given his size and lateral mobility, Korkmaz has the potential to become an incredibly versatile glue piece in time. As his frame fills out, he should be able to guard multiple positions with success defensively, while manning a fairly expansive offensive role to boot. He’s not the most developed ball handler as it currently stands, but has shown flashes of creation ability that — like that drive-and-dish shown above — could be a worthwhile investment for the Sixers’ developmental team.
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As he improves his game — whether he’s in a Sixers uniform next season or the one after that — Korkmaz has all the tools to play a significant role in determining the long term outlook of this team. He was under-drafted, and that’s something that could play into Philadelphia’s favor for the foreseeable future.