
14. Furkan Korkmaz (written by Jonathan Geib)
“Pop the Kork!” I remember when that used to be a semi-frequent shout in the Wells Fargo Center, but those days are long gone. Furkan Korkmaz saw his role all but disappear under former head coach Doc Rivers, who understandably opted to play more consistent wing players the last couple of seasons.
Korkmaz’s frustration with the organization has been extremely clear as he has requested a trade from the Sixers organization in back-to-back years now. The jokes write themselves, as non-contributing role players do not get to demand trades, but think about it from Furkan’s perspective for a minute.
The 26-year-old Turkish shooting guard joined the Sixers during “The Process” era, where he was given more of an opportunity to develop and gain valuable playing time.
Korkmaz’s growth was stunted under Doc Rivers.
This has been a similar trend for many young players over the decades under Doc Rivers’ coaching tenure. Rivers, sometimes to a fault, favors and prefers to play veteran players over developing young talent.
Is it a coincidence that the Sixers appeared to give up too early on Isaiah Joe, Charles Bassey, Christian Wood, etc.? The list goes on and on. None of this is to defend Korkmaz; he is not without fault. Being ranked 14th out of 15th on this Sixers roster by The Sixer Sense contributors is not a fluke.
In his six seasons in the NBA, he has never averaged above 10 points or 3 rebounds per game. His contributions are often inconsistent and his streaky shooting, no matter how good at times, is just not good enough to be a reliable NBA shooting guard.