Written by: Jonathan Geib
Well, well, well, Furkan Korkmaz’s second trade request in his relatively short tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers was not granted, again. It is hard not to laugh, all things considered. I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago wondering whom Furkan thought he was requesting a trade. Most trade requests in the NBA come from star players like James Harden or Kyrie Irving, not fringe role players.
Regardless, I did think Furkan was valid in his reasoning for the trade request. He has completely fallen out of the Sixers’ rotation and is not seeing any playing time. There are several better wing players on the roster, including but not limited to, Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, and George Niang.
Furkan is in the 2nd year of a 3-year, $15 million contract and it seems Daryl Morey is sending the signal that he will likely play out the remainder of this contract here in Philly. The upside for Furkan is that he has had impressive stretches with the team the last couple of years and if he works to get back to that player he could potentially get back in the rotation.
Three and four years ago, Furkan was shooting 37.5% and a career-high 40% from three-point range, respectively. He was a knockdown shooter that fit with Embiid and was one of the best players at stretching the floor. I’m not sure if it’s a funk or lack of motivation from his decreased role, but whatever it is, Furkan has the power to turn this season around for himself with hard work.
Now that he knows he will be on the team for at least the remainder of the season, why not try and make the most of it by doing the best he can and putting all his attention into improving his game?