The Sixer Sense
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Dario Saric Contributes to Positionless Philadelphia 76ers

By Josh Wilson

Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Dario Saric (Croatia) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twelve overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Dario Saric (Croatia) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twelve overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers are moving towards being a position-less team, and Dario Saric only adds to that.

With the end of the 2016 NBA season, the league is taking a new look. Tim Duncan recently announced his retirement, and Kobe Bryant wrapped up his career as well. As we move into a new era, there’s a chance we see the NBA move away from a defined five-position lineup to putting 5 versatile guys on the floor, without much of an agenda as far as positions are concerned.

The Golden State Warriors already do this, in a way, with their small-ball lineups. Draymond Green is by no means a center body type, but they play him in that slot when they go small.

The Sixers, on the other hand, may run a position-less lineup, similar to the Warriors, but with a more tall, and lengthy taste to it. Dario Saric is one of the final pieces to that.

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What we’re seeing develop is teams that have players in certain slots that don’t have specific jobs. For instance, a center doesn’t necessarily stick by the key, and a guard doesn’t necessarily bring the ball up (although usually the same player does bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense). Instead, you just have 5 athletic players all meshing together in whatever way works for them, not how the traditional position chart says they should.

Recently, Saric has yet again confirmed to the media that he intends to play for the Sixers next season. Saric has until mid-July to inform his Turkey team if he is leaving or not, so things are not yet official, but all signs point to Saric playing in America this season.

Saric was reportedly going to come by Las Vegas to meet up with the Sixers in summer league, but that has since been made to be unlikely. He just led Croatia to a win in their Olympic qualifying tournament, and he was the MVP of the tournament.

Among are some highlights (these specific videos come in Croatia’s game against Greece) where Saric shows he’s more of a position-less player, rather than a set power forward.

Here, he spots up his defender, dribbles between his legs, pulls up for a jumper, and hits it. This was a move that I would expect from a smaller, more guard-type player.

Here, Saric blows by a screen on an inbound play and quickly gets open for an easy jump shot.

Saric is a lighter, less powerful forward, but is said to still play the four. To me, I see him possibly slipping into the three, especially if the Sixers want to maximize their lineups. It’s been speculated that Saric didn’t want to come to the Sixers and sit the bench, and it’s been speculated that Saric would have to sit the bench with Simmons starting at the four.

But why?

Why can’t Saric fit into the three in bigger lineups, and the center position in smaller lineups? As of late, one of the greatest teams in the NBA has gotten to where they are solely because they’ve experimented with lineups and figured out what works.

Although I don’t think Brett Brown and the coaching staff should go overkill with experimentation next season, I think they should look at film and try to come up with solid plans and see what works and what does not.

Saric is clearly a versatile player. To call him a power forward and only a power forward would be an insult to his skill set that has yet to be completely formed. He’s kind of like a Ben Simmons, but without as good of vision, and with more of a jump shot.

That being said, I think having him on the floor in the three (or even the center position in small lineups) would benefit Simmons. Simmons needs shooters, and having a lineup where Simmons can be looking for the mobile and solid-shooter in Saric can be solid for the Sixers moving forward.

Here’s two lineups that are somewhat position-less (I’ll still label them for the sake of organization) that include Saric and Simmons.

Tall lineup

Small lineup

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Although I think in both of these lineups there’s work that needs to be done in the backcourt, as well as even the wing positions, in the smaller lineup, I think the main focus here is Saric and Simmons on court together, and that in itself is a solid idea.