As the Sixers prepare for the 2017 NBA draft, there still are questions surrounding a player from last year's class.
The Sixers selected Furkan Korkmaz with the 26th pick in 2016. The Turkish shooting guard remained overseas this past season because of the $2 million buyout in his contract with Anadolu Efes.
"I believe he's got a desire to come," Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said Wednesday.
While it seems like the 19-year-old would like to play in the NBA next season, that may not happen. Korkmaz still has a buyout on his contract and the Sixers would have had to find room for him on the roster. In addition to their guaranteed deals on the roster (eight guaranteed, four non-guaranteed, one team option), the Sixers have the third-overall pick and four second-round picks in the 2017 draft.
"We're debating whether it's the best thing or not," Colangelo said. "Some of it will come down to the financial concerns on his part. There's a draft salary swap, as you know, for rookie scale contracts. That No. 26 pick in last year's draft would move forward to this year's scale, but it's also ratcheted up a little bit with the new CBA so it's made it, perhaps, a little bit more palatable. But he's got a fairly significant buyout and that's going to be factored into his thinking as he's going through this."
Like the Sixers did when Dario Saric was playing overseas, they have stayed involved with Korkmaz. Colangelo and vice president of player personnel Marc Eversley traveled to Europe this month to watch Korkmaz play. Colangelo spoke to his agent Tuesday.
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"I think he's emotionally ready. I think physically he's got a ways to go," Colangelo said. "He's actually really long and he's growing. He might be 6-7, 6-8 now and with ball skills, good decision-maker, shot-maker, does a lot of good things. Very interesting player."
Those who have played with Korkmaz echoed that description. N.C. State center Omer Yurtseven was teammates with Korkmaz in Turkey.
"You never really see him doing bad stuff, talking bad about other people, he's like perfect in character," Yurtseven said at the NBA Draft Combine last week. "He's a great, great shooter. He's athletic. If he puts on some weight, he's going to be trouble."
Korkmaz was on loan from Anadolu Efes to Banvit to get more playing time. He won Best Young Player honors at the Basketball Champions League (BCL). Korkmaz averaged 10.4 points (48.8 percent from three), 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in BCL play.
