Philadelphia 76ers need Furkan Korkmaz to reach his potential

The Philadelphia 76ers have made one more investment on Furkan Korkmaz’s potential and they need him to show some returns on it.

It was a shock to most Philadelphia 76ers fans, myself included, when the new that the franchise re-signed former first round pick Furkan Korkmaz came in, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The former 26th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft has had career averages of 4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists, while converting 38.8 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from the 3-point line. That level of production won’t be enough for the Sixers this season and they need more from him.

More specifically, Philly needs Korkmaz to reach his potential this season. That might be a little unfair to ask of a 22-year-old entering his third season, but it’s something that 76ers and, to an extant Korkmz, need to happen.

The Sixers are clearly contending for a title this upcoming season. Philly’s ownership is paying a lot of money put this contender together. They need all their players to perform at a high level, and that’s something that Korkmaz has struggled to do his in career with any form of consistency.

Yet they gave him one more chance, despite having free agents like Thabo Sefolosha and J.R. Smith still available, as Christopher Kline Co-Site Expert of The Sixer Sense recently pointed out. Both of those players can still fill the 3-and-D role much better than Korkmaz has up to this point. This shows that the 76ers have faith in Korkmaz’s potential, despite him not being the best available option, and part of the reason why is that he showed growth as a player last season.

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/25/2019.

There’s a clear line of growth and part of it has to do with more playing time. Getting more playing has seemed to benefit Korkmaz. In the month of December last season, Korkmaz averaged 18.4 minutes and 35.8 percent shooting from downtown on 4.1 attempts. The minutes and 3-point attempts per game were the highest of any other month this past season. His shooting percentage in December was the second highest of any month last year as well.

Korkmaz showed legit shooting ability when given the opportunity. Obviously, Korkmaz has to improve in his consistency shooting and as a defender in order to get more consistent minutes. Nobody expects to Korkmaz to be a positive defender, but being a playable one should be in the realm of possibility. The Sixers need him to improve on the defensive end first, so that he reach his potential as a 3-point shooter.

More from The Sixer Sense

• 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
• 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
• 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
• Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
• Sixers Podcast: Danny Green returns + James Harden bombshell

However, shooting around 35.0 percent from behind the arc for the season won’t be viewed as a successful season for Korkmaz or a good signing for Philly. In order for this move to be viewed as a good signing, he will have to shoot somewhere between 38.0-40.0 percent on 3-pointers next year. That’s a lot of growth to expect from a young player like Korkmaz, but it’s the only way to justify bringing him back considering the other options on the free agent market.

If Korkmaz doesn’t reach his potential, the Sixers can release him after this season, because the second year of his contract isn’t guarenteed, according to Keith Pompey of Philly.com. On the flip side, if he does reach his potential as a shooter, they have a cheap shooter for two seasons and it helps him stay in the NBA. It also makes the Sixers bench much more dangerous for a postseason run.

It may not be fair, but the Philadelphia 76ers need Korkmaz to reach his potential as a shooter this upcoming season. If he doesn’t, then it won’t be good for the Sixers or his future.