Where does Dario Saric fit in with the Philadelphia 76ers?

With Dario Saric likely making his way to the Philadelphia 76ers this season, his fit with the team will largely be determined by how well he adjusts to the NBA level of play.

Dario Saric, if he is in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform next season, picked a somewhat odd time to come over. With Ben Simmons now taking on the role of franchise cornerstone, Saric’s ability to make plays from the four spot isn’t quite as valuable as it would have been last season.

In addition to that, the frontcourt logjam that has characterized the Sixers over the past few seasons hasn’t exactly cleared up. No teams have made any significant moves for Okafor or Noel since the draft, and the likelihood of them going into the 2016-17 campaign with three back-to-the-basketball bigs alongside Saric and Simmons is seemingly increasing on a daily basis.

Depending on how some teams do in free agency, the need for a center on the market for some teams could make a sizable shift over the course of the next couple of weeks, but I would be far from confident that any deal is imminent.

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If it does play out in that manner and we do see Saric join what would already be a flooded frontcourt, his role becomes somewhat dilute. His shooting from deep could be a valuable asset from a floor spacing perspective, but he’d likely be limited to the bench as Simmons runs the quasi-point role from the four for extensive periods of the game.

When he was in games alongside Simmons, he’d be reduced more to a spot-up shooter rather than a full throttle creator on that side of the ball as well, which takes away some of the tools that transformed Saric into such a desirable prospect coming out of Croatia.

In addition to Simmons neutralizing some of his rotational appeal, the temptation to go big with an Okafor-Embiid setup at times could further limit Saric’s minutes. During his tenure at Kansas, Embiid has showcased a solid midrange jumper that excited some scouts in regards to his future prospects at the next level, and he’s had no shortage of time to polish his shot off over the course of the past two seasons. This means there’s a good chance we see Simmons on the court with two other bigs as it stands heading into the season, not to mention the possibility that the first overall pick himself ups his shooting consistency in the process.

Essentially, Saric’s minutes at the power forward spot are going to be heavily limited, and his aptitude to potentially slide down to the three doesn’t seem to benefit him quite as much as it would have pre-Simmons. Jerami Grant, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Robert Covington, assuming they’re still with the team, will command legitimate minutes as well, with Harrison Barnes even being thrown out as a potential free agent acquisition as well. Saric checks almost every box in terms of a versatile piece that would, in theory, fit right in with the type of roster Bryan Colangelo and company are attempting to mold, but his opportunities will be difficult to come by.

Even if either Nerlens Noel or Okafor are traded off, the logjam still remains. Embiid’s fit alongside the remainder of the two is still worth noting from Brett Brown’s perspective, and Ben Simmons puts a serious cap on the upside Saric has in the rotation. His role has been notably limited already, it’s simply a matter of to what extent it is limited that will determine his outlook with the rotation.

Saric is an excellent player and he has the upside of somebody who could be among the best players on this roster, but his ability to produce immediately once he hits the United States will largely determine not only this upcoming season, but his future as a whole in some sense. If he struggles to get acclimated early on, his minutes could very well be given to someone else in what is going to be a thoroughly deep group of forwards from the look of it. If he doesn’t immeditely find his way onto the floor, knowing Colangelo’s obvious desire to make immediate improvement from a team-wide perspective, there’s a chance he then ends up not only riding the bench, but being put on the trading block as a valuable asset that simply doesn’t fit the Sixers’ collection.

Next: Free Agency Rumors Point to Shooting Guards

There’s a lot riding on this season for Saric, and it’s surprisingly tough to pinpoint his role. His ceiling is someone who could feasibly start as a floor spacing compliment to Simmons and Okafor, while his floor could be a bottom of the rotation bench warmer pushed onto the trade market towards the deadline. A lot could happen, and his success truly revolves around his ability to produce at the next level right away. Colangelo doesn’t have the same patience Sam Hinkie was so infamously characterized by, and that could play to his disadvantage.