Reportedly, the Philadelphia 76ers did not meet with Dario Saric‘s agent at an international basketball workout in New York City.
The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of one of the biggest offseasons in recent memory for the team. If everything goes right, the Sixers could be acquiring the right assets to make themselves playoff contenders in just a few years. But if things go wrong, they could fall into years of being in the middle 50 percent of the NBA.
One of the pieces that is a variable in the plan is Dario Saric, an international player that the Sixers have international rights to. Saric was drafted in 2014, and has since played for a basketball team in Turkey. His team went to the finals in their basketball league this year.
Just a week ago, Bryan Colangelo and Brett Brown were in Turkey watching him play in the Finals and likely talking to him about parameters of if he were to come over, and if he was planning on coming over.
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Saric has reportedly informed his team, the Anadolu Efes, that he won’t be returning next season, due to going over to link up with the Sixers. A recent newspaper in Turkey reported that it was “99 percent likely” that Saric would be in America next season.
Still, some things are not looking up.
In the long run, Saric would make more money holding out one additional year in order to get himself out of the rookie pay grade. Additionally, recent reports have indicated that the team and Saric are not talking at the moment.
Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times reported that the Sixers did not talk to Saric’s agent at the Excel International workout in New York. Saric was not present.
Understand #Sixers didn't speak to Dario Saric's foreign agent, who wasn't at yesterday's Excel International workout in New York.
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) June 16, 2016
The first things that come to mind regarding this report are certainly not positive. This makes fans believe there is something wrong between Saric and the team, since the two parties appear to be not talking. Could they be at a stalemate in contract talks? Could the two parties have already agreed that Saric will wait another year?
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What we must remember, though, is that this could also be positive. The two sides may not be talking because they may have already gotten a deal done, or have a solid one in place that simply needs to be signed. They could just be not talking because it’s anything but a done deal.
It looks as if the team is going to involve Saric next season. I think we should expect him to stay in Turkey, but hope that he comes to America. Given that there’s more money to be made if he stays in Turkey, it’s reasonable to think that he stays there. At the same time, it’s tough to pass up on the opportunity to play in the NBA. Only time will tell what the verdict is with Saric.