NBA Draft 2016: Sixers May Have Found A Gem In Furkan Korkmaz

Watching the first round unfold tonight was an, erm, experience. But without going off on an unnecessary tangent about Thon Maker's lottery credentials, I'll just say that things really played to the Sixers' favor tonight. Between Boston's roster crunch preventing them from drafting NBA talent for this upcoming season, to an unexpected run on lower-level prospects like Georgios Papgiannis and Juan Hernangomez, tons of intriguing talent was available to Philly at both No. 24 and No. 26, and they capitalized.

Matt dove into the Luwawu pick, so be sure to check that out, but Korkmaz falls into the Sixers' lap with an awesome skill-set for the pace-and-space era as well.

Korkmaz is a smooth 2/3, and what he lacks in top-shelf athleticism, he makes up for with a sweet outside shooting stroke, plus scoring instincts and impressive passing vision. He's going to be a minus on the defensive end, and he's not an explosive athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but he's a really fluid mover with and without the ball, and should bring some fascinating versatility on the offensive end. Evan Fournier has been a popular comp for his high-end outcome, but it'll still take quite a bit of maturing physically and as a decision-maker to get there. He's incredibly weak, and his burst isn't good enough to keep a frame like his on the floor. It'll definitely take some time.

There've been conflicting signs as to whether or not he plans to come over this season, but to me, he should stay overseas for the time being. There's no rush. He's got a lot of physical growth to go through before he can compete in the NBA, and moving up the ranks with Anadolu Efes should do him some good. He needs more minutes and more exposure primarily, and as a certain fellow EuroSixer hopefully heads stateside this summer, he should be able to hone some of his skills overseas while he waits for room to open up to compete in Philly.

As far as potential goes, the Sixers cleaned up in the first round tonight. Two, three years from now, with more meat on his bones and more experience to boot, Korkmaz may look like a really, really good pick. His skill-set is tailor-made for today's NBA, even if it's only on one end of the floor. Poor defensive wings can be hidden, especially if they come with the raw offensive skills Korkmaz oozes. The team just needs to stay patient, and this late in the first, hopefully they intend to.