The Philadelphia 76ers might be in the midst of a historically bad run for the franchise. They enter this weekend’s action with an 8-54 record. This comes on the heels of Philadelphia finishing last season with 18 wins.
With all that said, things aren’t as dire in Philadelphia as many would like us to believe. In the hunt for the first pick in the 2016 NBA draft, there’s a decent chance the team will be able to add LSU star Ben Simmons.
Equally as important for the long-term health of the franchise, it has a major carrot currently playing overseas in the form of Dario Saric, who Philadelphia acquired in a draft-day deal with the Orlando Magic back in 2014.
Saric, 21, is considered one of the top international players in the game. He’s currently playing for the Turkish team Anadolu Efes where he averaged 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in just over 24 minutes per game during the 2014-15 season.
Sixers head coach Brett Brown indicated recently that he’s confident Saric will make his way to the United States to play for his team next season:
“Obviously, decisions are going to have to be made on his part, but we like what we see and we believe he likes what he sees,” Brown said, via CSN Philly. “(Saric is a) competitive bull-in-a-china-shop player,” Brown said. “I think the city of Philadelphia is just going to love the physicality of him.”
Brown also went on to tell reporters that it’s his “gut feeling” Saric will play for the Sixers next season.
At 6-foot-10 and 229 pounds, the 21-year-old Saric would add yet another big body to go with the likes of Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel in the front court. Add in the potential return of former No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid, and that has the makings of a dynamic group of big men.
Though, it’s not yet known whether Embiid will actually return healthy after undergoing multiple foot surgeries since being drafted back in 2014.
If he’s able to return and with Saric potentially joining Philadelphia, the team would likely have to work out a trade for one of these four players.
In this, Saric becomes a valuable trade chip should he decide to play in the NBA next season.