Sixers: These playoffs will make or break Furkan Korkmaz’s free agency
When entering the postseason, it’s fair to say that most of the Sixers’ players have something to lose if they and the team don’t perform well. Players like Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris may come to mind because of how well-known they are, but there’s one player in particular who needs to do well the most during the playoffs.
It’s wing sharpshooter Furkan Korkmaz whose offseason lays in the balance most as he’s going to be entering unrestricted free agency. He has a chance to make a name for himself during this postseason or barely get paid during the summer.
Sixers’ postseason could make or break Korkmaz
In the past, I wrote about how Korkmaz’s postseason could impact his free agency. He’s had his best season on the defensive end this year and advanced stats back it up as I wrote in the aforementioned article.
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Being a non-negative on the defensive end will earn him playoff minutes, which is just the starting point for Korkmaz. If he can’t even do that he might only get a minimum contract this offseason and be deligated to a 10th or 11th man role in the future.
Assuming he can be ok on defense and produce around his season average of 9.1 points on 37.5 percent shooting from deep, then he would certainly get free agent interest from the Sixers and other teams. However, the amount of money he could get might be limited. Based on those averages, he’d probably get the mid-level exception or a contract between $7-$9 million per year for a season or two.
That isn’t the ceiling of what he can make in the free agency. If he hits a hot streak during the postseason puts up a couple of 20-plus point games on efficient shooting, then he could make between $10-12 million per year for two or three seasons. Teams value if players show up in the postseason, just ask Rajon Rondo.
If he can show out in a Philadelphia 76ers’ postseason run, then he could get a big payday in free agency. Now on whether or not the 76ers should overpay to keep the sharpshooter, you should read what Taku Hagiwara of The Sixer Sense wrote about it in his recent article.
dark. Next. It doesn’t matter who’s the Sixers' first round opponent
Considering that Korkmaz is about to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, what he does for the Sixers in the postseason will have a big impact on how much he can make this offseason.