Sixers’ shooting guard depth chart: Furkan Korkmaz — SECOND STRING
Furkan Korkmaz recently signed a three-year, $15 million contract to remain in Philadelphia through 2024. Once the subject of intense scrutiny and a public trade demand, Korkmaz’s reputation has done a complete 180 over the past couple seasons. He has emerged as a central figure in the second unit, and a player who Doc Rivers clearly trusts.
There’s no reason to expect a decrease in Korkmaz’s workload next season. He should get around 20 minutes a night, and he should do what he does best — shoot a bunch of 3s. Korkmaz is the highest per-minute volume shooter in the Sixers rotation. Only Isaiah Joe threatens to out-rank Korkmaz in that department, and the second-year wing from Arkansas is unlikely to see the floor consistently.
Much like Curry, Korkmaz has developed a strong rapport in two-man actions with Embiid. He can come around screens and fire on the move, or put the ball on the floor and work into a mid-range pull-up — a wrinkle of his game that we saw with increasing frequency last season.
While Korkmaz’s dribble drive forays and penchant for tough shots can sometimes veer too far off course, his confidence from the perimeter is enough to establish and maintain value in the second unit. The Sixers need quick decision makers around Embiid, and Korkmaz generally has his mind made up to shoot whenever he gets the ball. There’s something to that.
At 6-foot-6, Korkmaz also has pretty good size on the wing. He’s not a great defender — in fact, he’s very often a bad defender — but that size gives him some positional versatility. The Sixers can run Korkmaz out at small forward if need be, and even experimented with four-wing/guard lineups last season.