Despite Pre-Draft concerns that Philadelphia 76ers would stash late first round draft pick, don’t rule out both playing this season.
This is a wild ride for the Philadelphia 76ers fans right now. No pre-draft chatter resembles anything we are experiencing right now. We were led to believe that either Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel would be dealt before the draft, they weren’t. We were led to believe that the Philadelphia 76ers would be trading to get back into the top eight picks of the draft. They didn’t.
We were told that the Philadelphia 76ers, by default, would select NBA prospects in the latter part of the 2016 NBA Draft first round and stash them in Europe for a couple of years.
They very likely won’t.
Told Timothe Luwawu's buyout is reasonable, and Furkan Korkmaz's workable as well. Both want to come over.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) June 24, 2016
Has this blown your mind yet? Well, it shouldn’t. This is very logical. This is not about Sam Hinkie’s team, Bryan Colangelo’s team, a veteran team, nor a rookie team. This is the first time in four years that this appears to be about Brett Brown’s team.
Both Timothe Luwawu and Furkan Korkmaz can make quality decisions with the ball. Could field a team of + passers at every position one day.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) June 25, 2016
The Philadelphia 76ers have finally drafted a team – not players. This is Brett Brown’s pace space and pass team now. This is about setting up the team with the right pieces on the roster. This is about the value of a team having a lineup which can execute Brown’s game plan.
Until now, the Philadelphia 76ers dealt players like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange – buying low and selling high – with less thought about the 15 man roster which would eventually suit up and play for the team on a basketball court. At the end of the day, the team wanted to end up with more value than it started with.
It was a landmark strategy to use for a team with no pipeline of talent nor money to spend to return to greener pastures. But now, the team has trekked across the three year desert and is standing at the oasis of the 2016 NBA Draft.
This draft quenched a three year thirst.
Next: A Warm Draft
A Warm Draft
In the 2016 NBA Draft, despite all the drum-beating beforehand, the Philadelphia 76ers executed a draft strategy that left most of the Philadelphia 76ers fans amazed. Not only did the team land top overall pick Ben Simmons, projected by many analysts as a true NBA franchise player, but they also landed Timothe Luwawu Cabbarot from France and Furkan Korkmaz from Turkey at 24 and 26 respectively. In many draft boards, they were lottery prospects if not projected to the top ten.
Now the ultimate question – if both prospects COULD be stashed in Europe for now, why would the Philadelphia 76ers want to bring them under the constraints of their 15 man limit roster?
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Simply stated- the Philadelphia 76ers have the world premier practice facility coming on-line this fall, as well as one of the most sophisticated Basketball Analytics programs in the sport. In the past, the team was focused on acquiring the rights to players to use to accumulate talent. Now, the focus of this team is about developing that talent.
Still, there are financial implications to consider. With the NBA, a team can buy out an international contract up to $650k. Any amount which exceeds that contract price will come from the rookie wage scale as per the NBA collective bargaining agreement. But neither contract is as forboding as the terms of another international prospect – power forward Dario Saric.
Told Luwawu's buyout fits into that $650k amount. As previously mentioned, Korkmaz's is more ($2m), but can be paid in installments.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) June 24, 2016
It’s a lot of work to jump through all the hoops to get both Luwawu and Korkmaz to the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Is there any incentive to do so for the team besides better training?
Next: TImothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Actually yes. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is a 21-year-old 6-foot-7 205 pound small forward who could easily translate to the shooting guard position. He boasts a prototypical wing physique, boasting a 7-foot-2 wingspan which he uses with intense agility to interrupt passing lanes. In the Adriatic League, he played in 28 games and averaged 31 minutes per game, 14.6 points per game while shooting for 42 percent accuracy on field goals and 37 percent accuracy on treys. He also contributed 4.8 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 1.7 steals per game, and .4 blocks per game. His Achilles heel is turnovers, losing the ball on average 4.8 times per game.
Swarm and Sting
Luwawu was the consensus top two-way wing prospects in the 2016 NBA Draft, a skill set that has been highly valued in the modern NBA. It was this fact alone which led many to believe he would not escape the top ten, let alone fall all the way to 24.
He was compared physically to either Paul George or Jimmy Butler in pre-draft scouting reports, citing his height. While he is not a scoring juggernaut at a level of Brandon Ingram, he can score and his perimeter shooting accuracy has improved dramatically in just one year. He has a surprising quick slash to the basket, and he excels in fast break and transition.
Defensively, he is NBA ready and step foot onto the basketball court and hold his own early on thanks to his length and quick feet. His selling point on virtually all scouting reports on the young man were the conclusion that he will be a 3-and-D (referring to a three point shooter who plays exceptional defense).
Considering a huge weakness in the Philadelphia 76ers roster was the absence of a wing defender, Luwawu-Cabarrot will get serious consideration to arrive on this year’s roster.
Next: Furkan Korkmaz
Furkan Korkmaz
The Philadelphia 76ers, from the moment they drafted forward Ben Simmons, are no longer able to follow a standard position format. You see, the standard NBA team runs an offense via the point guard – who is smaller in stature but who exhibits superior basketball knowledge, ball handling, and ball distribution skills.
Those tasks will now be primarily assigned to Simmons.
That changes the specifications for the point guard position while Simmons is on the floor. Now, the team will look for a hybrid guard, a point guard who is accurate at shooting from the perimeter and can also manufacture his own shots.
That falls directly in Furkan Korkmaz’s wheelhouse. Korkmaz is a 6-foot-6 200 pound 18 year old young man who can play at either the shooting guard or point guard role. Despite two seasons in Europe, he has only played in a total of 38 games, but has average 40 percent shooting from the floor and 41.8 percent from the perimeter.
The rush to get Korkmaz to the NBA? Opportunity. He’s struggled to get playing time in Europe, but in an 82 game NBA league, would find much greater opportunity to roll into Brett Browns three or four game rotation, where he would get 10 to 15 minutes. Even on a one of four game appearance, he would see 20 games played, an increase over his current game load.
Korkmaz is still developing physically. At 18 years old, he would be the youngest player on the young Philadelphia 76ers roster. But he would strengthen the team in the backcourt, and he is a teammate of another NBA prospect, Dario Saric.
"“You could make an argument that he’s [Korkmaz] better off staying one or two more seasons in Europe and developing, but we’re a young team,” Colangelo said. “There’s an argument, even here, to say one more young body [on the roster] is not a good thing, but I disagree to an extent. We have a lot of development coaches, we have a beautiful practice facility, we have a D-League operation. I think [Korkmaz] might actually be better off in a situation where he comes over sooner rather than later, because he can be exposed to different things and possibly develop.” – Bryan Collangelo as interviewed by Derek Bodner of www.Phillymag.com"
And so, the chill of a young team seems to be thawing. The younger Colangelo, after a rough period of integration, seems to have adopted a more harmonious strategy, one that makes more optimal use of the strengths and assets of this team.
It was easier to assume the late first round picks would not find two players so highly coveted by this team, prospects who talents fall directly into the bullseye of the team’s shopping list. After the fates smiled so brightly on the team in landing the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, there was no expectation of more good fortune.
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The Philadelphia 76ers, in dire need of back court help but particularly in need of wing defense, could not have hoped for both Luwawu and Korkmaz to fall to them, but fall they did. Now, the best move for this team is to bring them home, develop them, and let them learn their role on the team from day one.