Immediate status of 76ers' later first-round picks remains uncertain

The 76ers selected three international players in the first round of the draft and at this point, only one is assured of playing next season with the team.

While No. 1 overall selection Ben Simmons is not only assured of playing and being one of the future faces of the franchise, the immediate status of their other two first round picks is less certain.

At No. 24 the Sixers selected Timothe Luwawu, 21, a 6-7 shooting guard from K.K. Mega Leks in Serbia.

With the 26th selection, the Sixers drafted Furkan Korkmaz, 18, a 6-7 shooting guard from Anadolu Efes (Turkey), where he was a teammate of Dario Saric, who the Sixers are hoping will come and play this season in the NBA.

Luwawu and Korkmaz are under contract next season but could negotiate buyouts.

Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo says it is too early to know whether Luwawu or Korkmaz will play in Philadelphia next season.

"I think both players have the intention or desire to come over now," Colangelo said in a press conference following the first round. "A lot of things are in play with that."

He said the Sixers will discuss the situation. Colangelo added that both players have the same representation group.

"There are some topics there, some of it is financial related that we will have to sort though," Colangelo said. "There  are buyouts to deal with."

So there will be plenty of deliberation about the immediate future of both players.

"At the end of the day we will try to see what the best path is not only for the player but the organization," Colangelo said. "If it means that they do come, we have a roster that is in flux right now."

Colangelo also said that the Sixers D-League franchise, the Delaware 87ers, is a great vehicle to develop young players.

"We will use the D League more often this year and will try to get a little closer relationship and try to utilize that asset and use the resource more appropriately," Colangelo said. "So even if they come over and are not ready to play, we will put them in a position to develop their bodies which I think we do better of over here than overseas. Both of them are probably younger, developing players, but they have been playing pro basketball for a while so they are probably more prepared than you think."