Saric excited to finally join the Sixers

As military tanks rolled past the airport 20 minutes from where he used to play professional basketball, Dario Saric held up a Philadelphia 76ers jersey and smiled.

Saric, 22, whose rights were acquired in a draft-night trade with Orlando in 2014, was introduced to reporters Friday afternoon at the team's facility in South Philadelphia. Saric spent the last two seasons playing for the Turkish basketball club Anadolu Efes, playing out the first two years of a deal he signed with the Turkish club before he was drafted.

Saric, a 6-foot-10 forward, arrived in Philadelphia on Thursday and signed his deal with the Sixers on Friday afternoon.

A world away, the Turkish military launched an attempted coup against the country's democratically elected government Friday evening. This came a little over two weeks after a terrorist bombing at the Ataturk airport in Istanbul killed 42 people about eight miles from where Saric played basketball last season.

But Friday, Saric said his decision to come to the Sixers this season, instead of waiting another year and possibly making more money, was purely a basketball decision.

"This was the time, just about basketball," Saric said. "It's not about the situation in Turkey. Because I lived there for two years, I was there every day with people who are there, and I'm very sorry about what has happened in Turkey, but the only reason why I'm here is only basketball reasons."

Terms of his deal were not disclosed. He was able to join the Sixers after they bought out his contract.

Saric was long expected to join the team this offseason, and he had reiterated multiple times during the past year that he would join the Sixers for the 2016-17 season.

Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo, who stood at Saric's side during his introduction Friday, said the team is eager to have him join the fray for those very basketball reasons.

"We know what [Saric] is, basketball-wise," Colangelo said. "He's a really well-rounded player who's coming into his own at the age of 22."

Saric was drafted 12th overall by the Orlando Magic and his rights were immediately dealt for Elfrid Payton.

Saric averaged 11.7 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 1.5 assists per game with Anadolu Efes last season. He shot 50 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from three, and 93.9 percent from the free-throw line During his time in Turkey. Saric said he and Sixers coach Brett Brown kept in good contact, talking three or four times each week. They talked about Philadelphia, about other players, and sometimes just about life.

"[Brown] is a great person, I think he is a great coach, and I think he will improve my game," Saric said.

Brown, who was still in Las Vegas with the Sixers' summer league team, was asked how he plans to play Saric.

"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know," the coach repeated. "If we are and the Philadelphia fans are smart, and the people that follow the team are smart, they see what I see. You got an abundance of bigs. Ben Simmons and Dario are very similar."

As a result, Brown believes finding a way us Saric will be a challenge - but a great one in his eyes. He believes that Saric and Simmons can play together.

"Today for me to get images, footage, and texts of him signing a contract in the city of Philadelphia is a very, very exciting day for the organization," Brown said.

When asked what position he would prefer to play this season, Saric let slip the first joke of his career. His position, he said with a chuckle, is wherever Brown wants him to play.

"I feel like if you say, my opinion?" Saric said. "In Europe most of the time, I played the `four.' A couple games, I play the `three,' but I think I can play both positions."

Whatever position he plays, Sixers fans seem keen to finally watch. When Saric arrived at the airport Thursday, he was greeted by a throng of fans and reporters. He laughed when his arrival was brought up. He said he wasn't expecting such immediate attention.

"I was surprised, I was surprised," Saric said. "I didn't know that we had people who would say welcome to me like that, in that way. I'm very happy because of that.

"I'm happy, because the city's happy, because I'm here," he said.

@AdamWHermann