Philadelphia 76ers: Furkan Korkmaz’s ceiling for the 2019-20 season

The Philadelphia 76ers are giving Furkan Korkmaz one more chance, but how much of his ceiling can he reach in this upcoming season?

In a previous article written about Matisse Thybulle‘s ceiling for this upcoming season, I wrote that he was the second youngest player on the Philadelphia 76ers roster, however that was a mistake. Furkan Korkmaz is actually the second youngest player on the roster only behind Zhaire Smith. As I wrote about both Thybulle’s and Smith’s ceilings for next season, this article will be covering Korkmaz’s ceiling this upcoming year.

After failing to coming close to his potential as a 3-point specialist in his first two season, the Sixers brought back Korkmaz in what could be his last chance to prove he’s an NBA player. In the past, I wrote about how Korkmaz has to reach his full potential this year to justify the franchise re-signing him this summer. While it would be great if he did that, it might be too high of an expectation to have on the 22-year-old wing.

His floor entering this season is that he will be used as a specialist in certain situations, as I wrote about before. This was similar to his role from last year. His stat line would also be similar from last season’s, in which he averaged 5.8 points and 2.2 rebounds, while converting 32.6 percent of his 3-pointers.

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If he stays at that floor, then his future with the 76ers and in the NBA should be in doubt. On the flip side, Korkmaz’s ceiling could prove that former president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo wasn’t wrong in drafting him in the first round.

It’s doubtful that Korkmaz comes out as a 38.0-40.0 percent shooter from downtown this season, despite that being the bar I put on team for justifying his re-signing. However, it’s totally possible that he can increase his 3-point percentages to between 36.0-37.0 percent. If he does that then he could push for semi-regular playing time in the bench’s wing rotation.

Part of that depends on if James Ennis, Smith and/or Thybulle struggle this year. If any of them do, then he still probably won’t be the first wing off the bench. However, if he can hit a high volume of 3-pointers at a slightly above average rate, then he could be the second or third wing off the bench.

If Korkmaz can become a reliable 3-point shooter, then his ceiling is a semi-regular rotational player off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers this upcoming year. His ceiling this season is predicated on how well he can improve his 3-point percentage.