The Philadelphia 76ers traded for Dario Saric in this past season’s draft, giving up Elfrid Payton in the process. The Sixers traded for the 12th overall pick with thoughts in mind that he would spend at least another season, if not two in Turkey and develop his game further. Saric signed a deal with Anadolu Efes in Turkey just a few short days before the draft for two more seasons, keeping him there contractually until 2016, but Saric has stated previously he might come over in 2015.
But the Croatian Power Forward seems to be very unhappy with the way he’s being used in Efes.
Here’s the quote from Turkish website Jutarnji.
Not good. I’m afraid it’s time for the alarm. Dario is depressed, nothing was clear – worried father Predrag Saric . Ten days ago, Dario was unhappy because there was little action for him, the coach did not want a lot of shoots. – If this continues, we look for someone who can pay for breach of contract. Dario has to play, not to watch the match from the stands.
If you don’t know about Saric, check out his highlight tape below. He has a lot of Boris Diaw in his game on the surface but has also been compared to Dirk Nowitzki, Hedo Turkoglu as well. Sixers Coach Brett Brown, who coached Boris Diaw for a number of years, came out and made this statement about Saric.
From a skills perspective, he’s got the ability to pass, he sees the floor so well, he’s got the ability to rebound and lead the break himself as a point forward, like some of the great point forwards. I’ve had the opportunity to coach Boris Diaw for many years in my 12 years with the Spurs. There’s some similarities that I see in Boris and Dario. But all of those things add up to a pretty special player at age 20.
The contracts in Turkey are so confusing if you’re not familiar with them, but here’s a breakdown on how it would work if Saric jumped ship to come to Philly from Turkey, as explained by Dan Feldman of NBCSports.
Many draft picks who aren’t immediately joining the NBA sign a letter stating they’re deferring their arrival in the league. That letter allows teams to clear the player’s cap hold immediately. If Saric signed such a letter, he wouldn’t be eligible to join the 76ers this season.
If he didn’t sign a letter, only the buyout with Efes would stop him from joining the NBA. To retain his rights, Philadelphia must have a standing offer of 80 percent of a rookie-scale contract until the first day of the regular season. There’s a decent chance the 76ers, who had more cap space than they knew what to do with anyway, never had Saric sign the letter. That would leave their options open.
But I doubt Philadelphia wants to add Saric now. At this stage of rebuilding, the 76ers would probably prefer he develops elsewhere while not occupying a roster spot or counting toward the cap. That would allow them to audition another player instead and accept more money in trades.
But if he really wants to come and can get out of his Efes contract, he could accept 80 percent of scale. To dissuade him, Philadelphia could promise 120 percent of scale in a future season.
My best guess: He resolves his dispute with Efes, continues playing for the Turkish club and then joins the NBA in a year or two for the standard 120 percent of scale.
