International prospect Dario Saric signs with 76ers
Dario Saric, the 12th overall pick from the 2014 NBA draft, has finally inked a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced Friday afternoon.
Saric — who was originally drafted by the Orlando Magic but was immediately traded to the Sixers for point guard Elfrid Payton, the 10th pick in that year's draft — spent the past two seasons toning his skills in Turkey with Anadolu Efes. He averaged 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24 Euroleague games last year and shot 40.3% from beyond the arc (1.2 makes), a drastic improvement from the 30.6% (0.7 makes) he shot the year before.
“We are thrilled to finally announce the highly anticipated signing of Dario Saric to an NBA player contract with the Philadelphia 76ers,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. “Our basketball team stands to benefit from both the on-court development and physical maturation of Dario as a professional player in Croatia and Turkey over the last few years.”
Saric, a 22-year-old, versatile 6-foot-10 forward, joins a top-heavy 76ers frontcourt alongside three other lottery picks: Ben Simmons (2016, No. 1 overall), Nerlens Noel (2013, No. 6 overall) and Joel Embiid (2014, No. 3 overall). But despite having a skill set similar to Simmons — and despite the potential for a frontcourt logjam — Saric is confident that he'll fit right in as the 76ers look to crawl their way out of the NBA's deepest depths.
“If you have five players who can run, feel each other on the court, I think it doesn’t matter which position we play,” Saric said. “How we play, how we help each other during a game, I think we’ll make good things, not just me and Ben, but the whole team.”
76ers coach Brett Brown agrees.
" ... How we use [Saric] is going to be a challenge but fun, a great challenge," Brown said, per CSN Philadelphia. "Dario and Ben can play together. They’re two really good players. How this plays out, how it takes shape, I think is a good challenge and one that we’re excited to learn more about.”
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