Sixers Select Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot at No. 24, Furkan Korkmaz at No. 26

After much trade speculation, the Sixers kept their late first-round picks.

In a pair of moves that would have made Sam Hinkie proud, the Sixers went international with their late-round selections.

At No. 24, they selected French wing player Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and at 26, Croatian guard Furkan Korkmaz.

"We felt like with the way the draft was unrolling we felt like we would be getting two of our targets at 24 and 26 and we decided to take that approach," Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said. "In Luwawu and Korkmaz we feel like we've added a couple of good, young talents that address some needs of this team."

Luwawu-Cabarrot, 20, is a 6-foot-7 swingman who began playing professionally in France at 17. He played for Mega Leks in Serbia last year, averaging 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

His shot is not his best skill but it's a developing one. He shot 37 percent from three this year on 156 attempts. Luwawu-Cabarrot displays the quick feet and athleticism — along with his 7-2 wingspan — to be an elite defender in the NBA.

"We got an athletic wing in Luwawu who can defend, can make shots, can do a lot of different things," Colangelo said. "But he's a great athlete and we're excited about what he brings"

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Korkmaz, the teammate of 2014 lottery pick Dario Saric at Anadolu Efes in Turkey, is just 18 years old. He's 6-7 but has a thin frame at 185 pounds. 

He has the ability to shoot the basketball, something the Sixers desperately need. Although he played just over 11 minutes a game, he shot 41 percent from three this season. He's also extremely athletic and has demonstrated an ability to handle the basketball and facilitate.

"And then you've got Furkan Korkmaz who is a tremendous shooter," Colangelo said. "You're talking about a very young man that has also like Dario been playing pro basketball for a couple of years now and I think has a little bit more of a leg up on some of the younger players that are stepping into the league immediately one year removed from school."

Both players could be draft and stash candidates. Luwawu-Cabarrot has a very reasonable buyout and could possibly join the Sixers in 2016-17, but may benefit more from another year overseas. 

Given his high buyout number, Korkmaz seems likely to return to Anadolu Efes. His number is set at $2 million, but NBA teams are only allowed to contribute $650,000 to that buyout. The remainder must be paid by the player.

It's a complicated process but Colangelo isn't ruling anything out. Both players are represented by the same agency, BeoBasket, which could make negotiations a bit easier.

"I think both players have the intention or the desire to come over now," Colangelo said. "There's some topics there. Some of it is financially related that we'll have to sort through... There's buyouts to deal with but at the end of the day, we'll try to see what the best path is. Not only for the player but for the organization and if it means that they both come, we do have a roster that's in flux right now."

Buyouts aside, Luwawu-Cabarrot believes he's ready to come over and play for the Sixers right away. 

Several outlets had Luwawu-Cabarrot as a projected lottery pick. While falling to 24 may be somewhat disappointing, Luwawu-Cabarrot thinks he may have landed in an ideal situation with the Sixers needing help at his position.

"Maybe a little bit (disappointed)," Luwawu-Cabarrot said of dropping to 24. "I just realized that maybe this was the best thing that could have happened for me."

Colangelo didn't want to commit to either player coming over, but said from a physical standpoint, Luwawu-Cabarrot could play in the NBA right now.

"Physically I think he's a little bit more advanced than some of the players we've seen in these workouts," Colangelo said of Luwawu-Cabarrot. "When you look at Luwawu, he's not necessarily slight and I think he's got a chance to match the physicality that's required."

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