Not long ago, Furkan Korkmaz appeared on the verge of returning to Europe. Now he’s a regular rotation piece for one of the NBA’s primary contenders — a player Doc Rivers has clearly taken a liking to, despite mixed feelings across the fanbase.
While it’s inaccurate to label Korkmaz as consistent, he does have a skill set of clear importance to the Sixers‘ second unit. In fact, even with George Hill set to join the backcourt, there should be no immediate threat to Korkmaz’s playing time.
The Sixers need Furkan Korkmaz’s perimeter skill set more than some would like to admit.
One of the most important skills on the Sixers’ roster is a quick-trigger 3. Not simply shooting a 3, but doing so without hesitation. Not many players on the roster have mastered it, despite the front office’s clear emphasis on shooting last offseason. Even Seth Curry, who is statistically one of the most accurate shooters of all-time, spends far too much time thinking before he fires.
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Danny Green is the Sixers’ highest-volume shooter, and his willingness to let open 3s fly when they become available is why he’s so essential to the starting five. Very few stars collapse a defense and generate open 3s like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Philadelphia needs to take more frequent advantage of those opportunities.
Therein lies the value of Furkan Korkmaz. He’s not only a solid shooter — 36.5 percent from deep on 4.7 attempts — but he’s a confident shooter. He will let loose difficult shots on the move. He will catch in the corner and fire without hesitation. He will even attempt pull-up 3s, a rarity on this team.
Korkmaz plays with a swagger very few players on this roster can touch. Even if shots aren’t falling, the sheer volume of shots is useful next to Philadelphia’s core. Defenses respect his jumper, and Korkmaz does what is necessary to exploit that attention for his team’s benefit.
Once the roster is at full strength, it is almost universally accepted that Mike Scott — not Korkmaz — should exit Doc Rivers’ 10-man rotation. Rather than focus on antiquated positional requirements, Rivers should simply stagger Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, which would ideally dissipate Scott’s inexplicable relevance to Doc Rivers. That leaves the window open for Korkmaz to stick in the rotation, even into the playoffs.
While the Sixers will lose size by ousting Scott, the league has moved beyond a steadfast reliance on size in the frontcourt. Simmons and Harris are plenty big, and lineups consisting of three or four wings can still succeed. Let Korkmaz share the floor with Seth Curry and George Hill, for example. Let Joel Embiid anchor second-unit groups while Korkmaz flies around screens and DHOs.
The Sixers need shooters in the Korkmaz vein, and while that vein certainly contains better players than Korkmaz, none of them are currently on the roster. The Sixers need Korkmaz’s at times unwieldy confidence. They need him to continue taking eight 3s in 17 minutes.
No one will deny the downside to Korkmaz, a mostly bad defender who is prone to cold spells and hot spells in equal measure. But there is no denying his value to the second unit as currently constructed. He’s simply too valuable a shooter to disregard.