Adrian Fedkiw
Furkan Korkmaz is coming to the states!
Korkmaz’s agent, Misko Raznatovic, announced that his client will be playing for the Philadelphia 76ers this coming season. Hopefully you guys are fluent in Turkish, the tweet is about drinking Turkish beer!
76'ers taraftarlarinin daha fazla Turk birasi icmek icin bir sebebi var! #BeoBasket #IstBasket
— Misko4Raznatovic (@MiskoRaznatovic) June 30, 2017
The 19-year-old Korkmaz was the 26th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and played most of the year suiting up for Banvit BK on loan from Anadolu Efes. He was named the Best Young Player Award in the Basketball Champions League and reached the finals with Banvit. He averaged 10.8 points per game and shot 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Korkmaz, who had a $2 million buyout [and he’s actually paying $1.3 million out of his own pocket to come over … awesome!], provides the Sixers what they might need most at the moment … shooting. He’s a knock-down shooter that hits shots off pick-and-rolls, running off screens and in catch-and-shoot situations. He’s also fluid and athletic enough to keep defenders honest with his ability to get to the basket and create his own offense.
The concerns regard his fragile frame. At 6’7 and only 185 pounds, Korkmaz will have to add to it, but he’s still only 19 and has a long way to go in his development.
Whether or not Korkmaz plays in the Summer League remains to be seen, but I expect him to play in at least a couple of the latter dates. Philadelphia’s first Summer League game is on July 3rd.
The process really is coming together. Hopefully some progress follows suit.
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