The Sixer Sense
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Dario Saric Staying Overseas Next Season

By Eric Mullin

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A report from David Pick of Basketball Insiders came out a couple of weeks ago citing that the Sixers were attempting to lure Dario Saric from Europe to play in Philadelphia next season. Hopefully fans did not get too excited over the report as Saric being in a Sixer uniform next season is completely out of the question, according to Chad Ford of ESPN:

"The Sixers reportedly have attempted to negotiate a buyout over the past month, but Saric’s buyout is too expensive to make the move practical, according to sources."

Saric has two years remaining on his deal with Turkish team Anadolu Efes Istanbal. Although, there is an opt-out clause in his contract for the 2016-17 season. When the Sixers traded for Saric’s rights at the draft last year, the general consensus was that Saric would indeed utilized that opt-out clause and join the Sixers for the 2016-17 season, so it is not really a surprise that he will be staying overseas next season.

The main hurdles in getting Saric to the Sixers for next season, along with the following season, have to do with money. Even though the Sixers own his NBA rights, he is currently ‘owned’ by Anadolu Efes. So if Saric wanted to come to the NBA, he along with the Sixers would have to work out a buyout with his Turkish club or they could simply not negotiate a buyout to block him from leaving. Whatever dollar/Euro that buyout figure is, the Sixers would only be able to contribute $600k with the rest of the money having to come from Saric. There are some additional ways in which the team could help Saric, such as the Sixers being able to pay Saric his first year salary up front to be used towards the buyout, but if the ransom was high it would not make a lot of sense financially for Dario. As Chad Ford reported, this is essentially what occurred when the Sixers were attempting to bring Dario to Philly for next season.

While the hope is for Saric be in a Sixer uniform for the 2016-17 season, it makes more sense financially for him to wait an extra year after that. If Saric comes over to the Sixers some time in the next two seasons, he would be bound to the rookie scale on his first contract. According to RealGM, the first-year salary of the 12th pick in the 2014 draft would be $1,803,400, but if Saric plays in Europe for three years after being drafted then he would not be held down by the rookie scale and have the ability to negotiate a contract when he comes to Philadelphia.

Tiago Splitter, who was 28th pick in the 2007 draft by the Spurs, took advantage of this clause when he came over to the NBA in 2010 and made $3.4 million in his first season. More recently, Nikola Mirotic waited three seasons to come to the NBA three seasons after being drafted by the Bulls and signed a 3-year/$16.6 million deal last offseason. With the salary cap set to rise to around $108 million in 2017-18, Saric could conceivably command a deal worth a lot more than he would have made under a rookie scale structured contract.

The final angle that is often overlooked in SaricWatch is that he may not personally be in a rush to come to the NBA. Dario is coming off a season where he won his second consecutive FIBA Europe Young Men’s Player of the Year Award and led his team to the Turkish Baksetball League Finals. Saric also led his team in points (12.6), rebounds (6.4), and assists (2.3) per game throughout the entire season, including the playoffs. If Saric enjoys playing for his Turkish club and does not want to come to the NBA just yet, then he could simply play out his contract in Turkey for the next two seasons. Then Dario could sign a contract that is not bound by the rookie scale with the Sixers in advance of the 2017-18 season.

This news does not deter from the original ‘plan’, and should not be viewed as a failure. When Saric was acquired, he along with the Sixers made it known that it would most likely be two years before the talented forward came to the NBA. What should be a concern to Sixer fans are the financial aspects that could delay Saric’s debut in Philadelphia one more season than originally expected.

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