Sixers should wait another year to add Furkan Korkmaz

With the current roster construction and a lack of a defined role, the Philadelphia 76ers should wait a year to bring over Furkan Korkmaz.

In the case of Dario Saric, the timing felt right for him to come over and join the Sixers last summer.

But the timing just doesn’t feel right for Furkan Korkmaz, who has expressed his interest in joining the Sixers this season, and the Sixers, who have also expressed interest in having him on the team.

The Sixers have been high on Korkmaz ever since they drafted him 26th overall in last year’s draft, and for good reason, as there’s a lot to like about his game.

Korkmaz runs the floor well and he has good passing vision. He’s a lanky player and a good shooter that is able to get his shot off when pressured by the defense. He also has defensive upside to his length, but he also has good athleticism and has shown the ability to jump passing lanes.

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Despite Korkmaz having a lot to like about his game and the potential to be a solid contributor on the Sixers, there are still a few reasons why he should off on coming to the states for another season.

Roster Spots

The biggest reason Korkmaz and the Sixers should hold off on adding him to roster for this upcoming season is that there just ins’t enough playing time for him.

The Sixers will likely be aggressive in the shooting guard market in free agency, and that was evident when they elected to draft international player in the second round that likely won’t join the team this season.

So, if the Sixers aggressively pursue J.J. Redick or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency and land one of those guys to become the team’s starting two-guard, the team is suddenly has plenty of depth on the wing.

Including a free agent, Nik Stauskas, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Robert Covington and Gerald Henderson, the Sixers will have five wing players that Brett Brown will likely include in the rotation, leaving Korkmaz on the bench or potentially in the G-League.

From everything Colangelo has said about wanting to give their young players significant minutes, it doesn’t make sense from a roster construction standpoint to have a player like Korkmaz come over and join a crowded group of wing players that will likely include a veteran free agent.

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Nik Stauskas deserves a shot

The second reason Korkmaz should stay overseas for another season is for the Sixers to give Nik Stauskas one last shot to prove he can be a part of the the franchise for the long term.

Stauskas has shown steady improvement throughout his time with the Sixers, and he could find himself in a role that best suits him next season. He will likely come off the bench and will be asked to come in and knock down 3s on the second unit.

If Korkmaz comes over and joins the rotation, there might not be any minutes left for Stauskas and the Sixers could move on from him without fully seeing how he could fit.

When Sergio Rodriguez was out during the last few weeks of the season, Stauskas became the team’s backup point guard behind T.J. McConnell and he actually did well for the limited experience he had running the point.

This got many people thinking about how good Stauskas could be as the de-facto one on the court with Ben Simmons as the primary initiator. In this lineup, Stauskas would likely find more open space on the floor and continue to improve his three-point percentage while playing with Simmons.

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Stauskas could thrive on a team where he comes off the bench and is asked to space the floor and run off screens, and if the Korkmaz takes his minutes, the Sixers could miss out seeing Stauskas’ full potential.

Not NBA Ready

The third and final reason why the Sixers need to wait on bringing over Korkmaz this season is the fact that he is just not ready to handle a full season of NBA basketball.

There are still several things Korkmaz needs to work on before he jumps right into playing quality minutes for the Sixers.

Korkmaz is very slight for his 6’7″ frame and definitely needs to add muscle in order to be able to compete on the defensive end.

Speaking of defense, that is really where he needs to improve. He lacks the lateral quickness to guard NBA wings and could get exposed on the defensive end. Korkmaz specifically has struggled to guard threes that are bigger than him and can expose him in the post.

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Korkmaz could really benefit from another year overseas where he can focus on adding muscle but also his defensive mechanics on quicker, two guards.