Buyout rule may keep Korkmaz from joining Sixers this year
The immediate NBA future of 76ers draftee Furkan Korkmaz is unclear. The guard from Turkey didn't expect to be chosen with the 26th pick in the NBA draft Thursday.
The immediate NBA future of 76ers draftee Furkan Korkmaz is unclear.
The guard from Turkey didn't expect to be chosen with the 26th pick in the NBA draft Thursday.
"I'm still in shock," Korkmaz told the Turkish Basketball Federation website.
The 6-foot-8, 170-pounder was hoping to be among the top 20 players selected. He added that things turned a little bit upside down for him.
"I kind of took some risk," Korkmaz said of staying in the draft. "I was drafted by a team that I never expected. Am I sad because of this? No, of course not. I'm a player picked in the NBA draft."
Korkmaz said he'll talk with his family and agent to see what would be his best option.
Korkmaz is under contract next season with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Super Basketball League. His buyout is $2 million. NBA teams are allowed to pay only up to $650,000 toward a buyout. League rules dictate that players must pay any remaining balance. He's slotted to make a little over $1.02 million in 2016-17 if he signs with the Sixers. Korkmaz can reportedly pay off his buyout in installments.
He would have made around $1.74 million in the NBA as the last lottery pick (14th overall). Korkmaz was given the impression that he would be selected late in the lottery or somewhere in the middle of the first round. That's why he didn't withdraw his name and reapply next summer.
Only 18 years old and rail thin, Korkmaz could benefit from one or two more seasons overseas, and the Sixers are unsure whether he'll come over this season.
Right now, he's a spot-up shooter who can run off screens. Korkmaz needs to develop his ballhandling and defensive fundamentals to compete in the NBA.
He averaged 5.6 points and 14.3 minutes while shooting 43 percent on three-pointers in 29 Turkish league games. He struggled from the foul line, making just 62 percent.
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