Philadelphia 76ers: Furkan Korkmaz is beneficiary of 2020 offseason
The Philadelphia 76ers may still have a role for Furkan Korkmaz when the season starts.
We are less than a month away from the start of NBA basketball. After a series of poor performances in the Bubble, many expected Furkan Korkmaz to lose relevance in 2020-21. While he surely will, he may not lose as much as expected. The Philadelphia 76ers still have room for his skill set.
Daryl Morey’s M.O. for his first offseason as Sixers President has been simple: wait and see. He didn’t do nothing — Philadelphia promptly divested in Al Horford and Josh Richardson, wise and necessary moves — but overall, Morey was reluctant to make seismic changes to the core. No Ben Simmons trade, no massive overhaul of the second unit.
The Sixers have only signed one guaranteed free agent contract: Dwight Howard, to the veteran minimum. Morey hasn’t used the Sixers’ mid-level exception, and he hasn’t made any foundational changes beyond the past-due departures of Horford and Richardson. He has done — at first glance — the bare minimum.
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Such marginal change would be worrisome if Morey hadn’t made his thought process abundantly clear. He does not view this as the final form of Philadelphia’s championship-winning roster. He has simply left bullets in the chamber — the opportunity to initiate more drastic change when future opportunities arise.
Morey and Doc Rivers are going to evaluate what they have then make decisions at the trade deadline. Or, think about the Jimmy Butler trade. He came available midseason, and Elton Brand jumped on it. The Sixers got Butler for a shockingly low value, and did so with plenty of time to integrate him into Brett Brown’s system before the playoffs.
Now, Philadelphia’s handling of Butler is up for debate. But the opportunity to win a championship in 2019 was there, almost entirely due to the changes Philadelphia made mid-season. Not everything has to be finalized by training camp.
All that leads to Korkmaz, who should be endlessly pleased with his outlook entering training camp. His $1.7 million contract is now officially guaranteed, and he’s in prime position to take the 10th spot in Rivers’ regular season rotation. The Sixers will see what they have, and that will inevitably involve another extended opportunity for Korkmaz.
Overall, 2019-20 was an overwhelming success for Korkmaz, who went from a fringe piece to the Sixers’ sixth or seventh man in Brett Brown’s rotation. His value diminished considerably in the postseason, where he became a fruitful target for opposing offenses, but he still went from the NBA outskirts to someone Philadelphia relied on — for better or worse.
Instead of losing his spot to an influx of new talent, Korkmaz will probably have a role when the season starts. He may not keep it — the trade deadline or buyout market could bring better talent — but to begin the year, Korkmaz will have a chance to earn his keep under Rivers.
The Sixers still need shooting. Some have pointed to Terrance Ferguson as a potential challenger to Korkmaz, while Mike Scott played for Rivers in L.A. and as a result, has an established relationship. That said, neither provides the volume or versatility of 3-point shooting Korkmaz does. It’s Korkmaz who has the best chemistry with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
The Sixers’ 10-man rotation will probably look like this. Korkmaz shouldn’t sit comfortably — he does have competition — but given how the Bubble ended, he should be elated by the chance to have a role at all.
- Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
- Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, Dwight Howard, Furkan Korkmaz
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In the end, Korkmaz will need to show drastic improvement to have a spot in Rivers’ playoff rotation. The Sixers are not done making changes. That said, after so much uncertainty in the Bubble, Morey’s wait-and-see strategy could benefit Korkmaz more than anyone else on the roster.