Philadelphia 76ers Dario Saric Update

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Mar 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (left) and center Joel Embiid (right) share a laugh during warm ups before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Fit

Right now the Sixers are looking at a gluttony of centers, and a patient but uphill battle to retrain centers to function like power forwards. But that will create a new set of problems. Right now, the team will likely work at converting Nerlens Noel or Joel Embiid to a functional power forward role. That will give the team a solid offense at the post from Jahlil Okafor, and keep big bodies on the floor to defend. As long as they are athletically conditioned to meet the demands of the more demanding defensive roles.

Still, that places more burden on the wings, both small forwards and shooting guards, to hit from long range. As of right now, of all three positions, small forward is the weakest position Saric has played. Yet in the Sixers grand scheme, right now it appears as though small forward will be the place for Saric to slot into. That’s my best guess at this moment, and I wrote an article about that 2016 starting roster two weeks ago.

In that scheme I see the Sixers slotting Joel Embiid into the power forward role, and moving Saric to the small forward slot. Can it work?

It could and should. Keep in mind that Saric plays all the way up to center with Efes right now. Moving onto the Sixers lineup would be a more focused role (hopefully) for Saric. The key ingredient to it all is fit. Does Saric have a long range shot? His 38.3 % shooting from beyond the arc would give him the lead in shooting accuracy for treys. That’s better than even Hollis Thompsons‘s long range shot.

The part of Saric’s game that I like best is that he does so many things well. Check out the highlight video of his play from last year.

He can work a fast break. He can set up at the corner and sink a trey. He can defend the basket and turn and sink a fade-away jumper. If the team has a good mid range shooter (and Embiid appears to be very good), Saric can threaten both deep and mid range. His long range shot is developing nicely overseas. That has made a tremendous difference for him in becoming a more complete offensive player. Saric was in a groove in December, hitting 52.3 percent of his treys during that run, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can continue to hit at that clip. Since December 2015, he’s been actually hitting on 40% of his treys.

ALSO ON SIXER SENSE: Progress of the Process: Talent? Talent.

His game could be most aptly compared to fellow Croatian Tony Kukoc. Kukoc played a small forward role in the NBA, including two seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers. Kukoc was 6’11”, Saric is 6’10”. Kukoc weighed in at 235 pounds, Saric weighs in at 229 pounds. Both have Croatian heritage. Both have a reputation for great passing skills and versatility. Both Kukoc and Saric were drafted by an NBA team, but opted to play in the European league for three years. Kukoc played for the Chicago Bulls during their three national championship run.

With the similarities, we can hope that same story can be told about Dario Saric as a Sixer in twenty years.