Furkan Korkmaz has reportedly reached an agreement to join Fenerbahçe

The Sixers declined to pick up the third year option on Furkan Korkmaz’s contract back in October, meaning he would become a free agent this summer. As free agency fast approaches, it seems as though Korkmaz may not be confident that his next NBA opportunity will enable him to succeed, or that he will even be given another NBA opportunity at all. According to Ajansspor, a Turkish sports media outlet, Korkmaz has reached a deal to join Fenerbahçe, an Istanbul-based Euroleague club.

The following is an excerpt from the Ajansspor report, translated courtesy of Google:

Fenerbahce Beko, who lost the championship in Tahincioglu Basketball Super League to Anadolu Efes but received a big applause despite all the misfortune, is about to finish a flash transfer for the coming season. Allegedly, Fenerbahce reached an agreement with Furkan Korkmaz.

Let us all pop the Kork one final time.

Korkmaz was drafted 26th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Bryan Colangelo-led front office. Over his two-year tenure with the Sixers, Korkmaz appeared in 62 games and averaged 4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 12.2 minutes.

Korkmaz has largely been a disappointment. Young European talent can be hard to project, but the hope was that Korkmaz could provide the Sixers a mid-to-deep rotation wing who could space the floor. But one of the major obstacles for Korkmaz in meeting those aspirations is that he’s been a below average shooter, with a career 32.3% mark from deep. He also appeared to be very lacking in the athleticism department and he’s yet to mold an NBA frame.

His greatest feat as a Sixer? Dropping 40 points in a game... in Summer League.

The good news for Korkmaz is that Fenerbahçe is one of the more respected and accomplished organizations in Europe. They’ve produced some notable NBA names such as Nemanja Bjelica, Bogdan Bogdanović and Bojan Bogdanović, to name a few. Maybe they can further develop Korkmaz to a point where he is able to make a return to the NBA*. Furkan will turn just 22-years-old next month. Hey, I’m just sayin’.

*Eurohoops.net recently reported that Korkmaz’s priority is to remain in the NBA. I’m unclear of the exact nature of this agreement between Korkmaz and Fenerbahçe, but it’s possible that at this point in time, it is only a verbal agreement and Korkmaz will continue seeking an NBA deal for at least a few weeks, only joining Fenerbahçe as a worst-case scenario.