Sixers: 3 players team can replace in 2021 NBA Draft

3 players the Sixers can replace in 2021 NBA Draft: Furkan Korkmaz

I’m not sure anyone has a firm grasp on Furkan Korkmaz‘s market in free agency. He could get paid a decent sum, or he could be back in Philly on the veteran’s minimum, and neither outcome would shock me. Given his youth and shooting stroke, however, my gut expects him to chase a bigger contract to greener pastures. The Sixers should probably allocate the mid-level exception elsewhere, and there’s no cap space to re-sign the 23-year-old.

Korkmaz did, however, show improvement last season, shooting 37.5 percent on a heathy dose of 3s while improving his ability to attack closeouts. He also grew as a defender. Not quite to the point of being a good defender, but a good enough defender to survive in the postseason.

In fact, it was Korkmaz who often drew the start in place of injured Sixers, most notably in the second round once Danny Green went down. He was a big part of Doc Rivers’ reserves, and is certainly a player the Sixers will actively need to replace should he leave.

While it’s reasonable to point to Isaiah Joe as the heir apparent to Korkmaz’s volume-shooting crown, it may behoove the Sixers to seek another option. Joe is still skinny and largely unproven. Another rookie is no guarantee to be better, but it’s nice to have options.

Plenty of high-level shooters are projected to be available in range of the 28th pick. Guards like Quentin Grimes, Nah’Shon Hyland, and Chris Duarte can all fill it up. If the Sixers would prefer a more traditional wing set-up, than the aforementioned Trey Murphy makes sense, or an underrated sharpshooter like Joe Wieskamp.