Sixers: Isaiah Joe should replace Furkan Korkmaz in rotation next season

It’s fair to say, that outside of Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz is the most important Sixers’ player entering free agency. I’ve already written about five teams Korkmaz should consider in free agency, but if he does leave, where does that leave the Philadelphia 76ers?

Luckily, for the 76ers they have already drafted his replacement in the 2020 NBA Draft. Isaiah Joe was one of the most lethal sharpshooters in the country when he played in college. Working under the assumption that Korkmaz will leave for a bigger role and/or a bigger payday, Joe is an ideal player to replace the Turkish wing.

Joe should replace Korkmaz in the Sixers rotation next season.

Last season, Joe averaged 3.7 points on 36.8 percent shooting from the 3-point line while shooting 2.6 attempts per game. Not super flash stats, but when he was in college, he averaged 15.2 points on 37.8 percent shooting while attempting 9.1 shots from the deep per game. Joe certainly is a marksman that Philly needs coming off their bench.

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Comparatively, Korkmaz averaged 9.1 points on 37.5 percent while attempting 4.9 shots from downtown last year. Korkmaz was one of the best shooters for the Sixers last year, but shooting outside shoots wasn’t his only skill. He was a solid overall scorer, could move without a ball, and was an underappreciated passer.

Joe hasn’t proven that he can do those things yet, but he’s already shown to be better in one area in Korkmaz and that’s on defense. Joe even was able to leapfrog Korkmaz briefly in the rotation this past season.

Even if Korkmaz did return, there’s a chance that Joe could still take his spot in the rotation based on Joe’s superior defensive talents. Either way, the Sixers should use Joe to replace Korkmaz next season.