Grading every Sixers player: Furkan Korkmaz // D+
Furkan Korkmaz regressed dramatically after his pleasantly productive 2021-22 season. He only hit 28.9 percent of his 3s, which is simply not good enough for a player whose sole purpose in the lineup is to hit 3s. Credit to him — he stayed aggressive and he showed up to play when given the opportunity — but the shots never fell frequently enough.
The Sixers paid Korkmaz last summer. He’s part of the rotation, like it or not. He has to be better. Philadelphia needs volume shooters like him around Joel Embiid and James Harden, so Korkmaz will get every opportunity to earn back the trust of Doc Rivers. He was still getting break-in-case-of-emergency minutes in the playoffs, and he’s one of the longest tenured players on the team now. He has chemistry with Embiid that can’t really be replicated by the scarce shooters elsewhere on the roster.
If Korkmaz is hitting 35 percent of his 3s instead of 29 percent, the outlook on his career moving forward would be much better. Sometimes it’s as simple as “he was cold” or “he was hurt and we didn’t know it.” Frankly, common logic would suggest Korkmaz is better next season. He’s a better shooter than 28.9 percent.
The Sixers do genuinely benefit from Korkmaz’s confidence and ability to attack closeouts. He’s a valuable offensive player when shots are falling. He’s not without flaws — it’s hard to play bad defenders in the playoffs — but we should expect something of a rebound next season.