Furkan Korkmaz Changes Philadelphia 76ers 2017 NBA Draft Equation

Philadelphia 76ers Furkan Korkmaz changes the Philadelphia 76ers 2017 NBA Draft strategy in three important ways

The Philadelphia 76ers selected shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz with the 26th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. In fact, at the time he was touted as a very close runner-up to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot as a”Three And D” prospect.

His shortcomings simply arose from being too raw.  On the team with Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Ben Simmons, and of course 24th selected Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, “TLC”, the team simply did not have enough coaching resources to develop the tremendous upside of Korkmaz.  So the Sixers made the right choice be electing a draft and stash.

Swarm and Sting

Despite “thinning the herd”, the team struggled to find time for those who remained.  Ben Simmons fell to injury before the start of the season. Joel Embiid played 31 games on  minutes restrictions. And even Dario Saric alternated starts at power forward until settling in late in the season.  But as the team worked through those issues, TLC struggled to find the basketball court.

The More Things Change…

Since that time, the team now has the opportunity to bring Furkan Korkmaz to Philadelphia for the 2017-2018 season. But this team will have rookie Ben Simmons debuting, Joel Embiid entering is 32nd NBA game, and even Dario Saric still competing for a starting role.

Even Luwawu-Cabarrot is not settled in just yet at the shooting guard role. Despite a late surge in playing time and production (the team was running out of healthy bodies), he only averaged 17.2 minutes per game. Now, the team may be looking to add Korkmaz to the mix to determine his NBA potential.

But why here? Why Now?

Prepare for 2018 Shakedown

The Philadelphia 76ers grow up in 2018. While the team had tough decisions emerging from the 2016-2016 season regarding the futures of Ersan Ilyasova, Sergio Rodriguez, and particularly Nerlens Noel, that was merely the appetizer.

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Contracts expire at the end of the 2017-2018 season for Robert Covington, Joel Embiid, Nik Stauskas, and Gerald Henderson. While the team will certainly make committed efforts to retain both Covington and Embiid, the team has some maneuver room at shooting guard.

Both Henderson and Stauskas may be competing for one roster spot this year.  Or, the team may simply go with Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot at the two and plan to load up at shooting guard via the 2017 NBA Draft.

But however it plays out this year, the Philadelphia 76ers have to assess the fit of Furkan Korkmaz within this roster prior to severing ties with either Henderson or Stauskas.  The only way to do that is bring him onboard for the 2017-2018 season.

Try Outs Back Court

Right now, the team will likely be holding “try outs” at two to determine the best fit for Ben Simmons.  While the debate of “who defends who” is quite lively, if the team sees the plan through to send Simmons to the point guard role, the remaining back court spot will require a rather versatile guard position.

That role will like begin with veteran Jerryd Bayless, whose forte is both point and off-ball dynamics.  But the team also had some encouraging play for TLC in the last months of the 2016-2017 season as well.  In fact, in April 2017, Luwawu-Cabarrot averaged 33.7 minutes, 18.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 2.3 assists.  After that type of month, the team may realize there is more where that came from.

His name is Furkan Korkmaz.   And that is just one way he changes the team’s NBA Draft strategy away from the guard positions.

Rethink NBA Strategy

But what does Furkan Korkmaz do for the team if he arrives this year? Does it give the team an option to trade back? Perhaps the team will even trade out?  Perhaps the team is considering trading up in the draft?

How about “all of the above”?

Even so, interesting means provocative and deals one might not consider off the top of the head.  What could that mean?

Well, this team has considered trading up at three.  This team has considered trading back at three.  But the Philadelphia 76ers have other options that have yet to get press coverage:  trading for a veteran or trading into next year.  Now, trading into future years is complex in that the subsequent year picks may not land as high on the selection list.  So if that is a viable consideration, the 76ers will need multiple picks with appropriate protections as the incentive to let go of this year’s three.

Don’t look for that to happen. Why?

The Power Of Three

The third pick of this draft is incredibly valuable (thank you very much Sacramento Kings!).  With a closely knit field of prospects and the depth which runs all the way to ninth, teams are bound to differ in terms of valuing which player is “elite” and which player is simply very good.

In any NBA Draft, one player does make a difference.  In this NBA Draft, there are a myriad of opinions as to which player is that difference-maker. If a team believes Kansas small forward Josh Jackson is the best player in this draft, then his presence at three becomes an irresistible chance to deal for him.

And so, what does a team trade for the best player in the  draft, regardless of draft position? Well, plenty.  But it could be any number of player names inserted here.  If a team believes the fit and upside of a player exceed all others, that team must be prepared to pay the premium for selection.

Furkan Korkmaz clogs the backcourt for the team somewhat.  In fact, he is a versatile young man with a very sweet shot.  So if the team is looking at the NBA Draft, do they focus on competition for that role, or deflect to another type of skill set? With Korkmaz, the team can look elsewhere.

Reason To Deal

As a matter of fact, no NBA team should enter into an NBA draft seeking to trade back.  But the Philadelphia 76ers must  prepare to move in either direction this year. In fact, we walked through the 2017 NBA Draft options to either move up or back in this draft.   While the discussion focused on second round picks, the same principals apply to the third pick of the draft as well.

The basic formula is two parts:
I:  Is the value gained by this transaction greater than value surrendered?
II: Will new position offer significant opportunity to improve the team?

If the answer is no in either case, the deal should never happen. But Bryan Colangelo gave up some key elements in this release today

Translation? The team has offers to move back, and we’re okay all the way back to the ninth pick if we trade back.  So how does Furkan Korkmaz play into this?

Dealing For Veterans?

In fact, if the Philadelphia 76ers phone rings on draft night for the third pick in this draft with a team offering a veteran, do the Philadelphia 76ers listen? Well if the team wants NBA quality shooters, the venerable Steve Kyler thinks they should.

And still, there are more like him. In fact, Sixers beat writer Tom Moore covers the possibility in his recent article.

Third And Final Strategy Deviation

So there are some solid perspectives at least open to the idea. On one hand, that gives more credibility to the Philadelphia 76ers taking on the development of shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz this season. On the other hand, it allows the team to go with high upside as well as ensure a solid veteran starter.  So which team and which veterans would be considered?

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So the third way he changes the team’s NBA Draft strategy is to not draft at all, or to accept a package of veteran plus picks.

In the end, the moment decides the course of action.  But with Furkan Korkmaz available to the team, the range of options is far greater at the three pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.