Sixers Bringing Back Furkan Korkmaz on Two-Year Deal
Wowee!
This was not expected:
Free agent F Furkan Korkmaz has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, agent Mike Lindeman of @excelsm tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 24, 2019
The first year of the contract is guaranteed while the second year has a July 10th, 2020 trigger date to become guaranteed. Furkan was reportedly headed back to Turkey to play for Fenerbahce this season after becoming a free agent following the Sixers’ playoff exit.
He played 48 games this year, 41 off the bench, as he tried to establish himself during his sophomore NBA season. Korkmaz tore his meniscus later in the year but recovered in time to appear in four postseason games.
I’m surprised he’s back, and also surprised that he wants to be back. I thought for sure he’d go somewhere where he could start, or simply play more than 14 minutes per game. But Furkan can shoot a bit, and if he can up his three-point percentage from 32.6% while improving his defense, he could possibly be a reliable scorer off the bench, which the Sixers could certainly use right now.
But yeah.. did not see this coming.
EDIT:
Here are some of Furkan’s quotes from end of season media availability –
On where he goes from here and what he’s looking for in free agency…
“For me, this summer is going to be like my real free agency because when I was in Turkey I didn’t really have that free agent stuff, because I was, at the time, under contract. I’m going to face this free agency. I’m really confident about it. I think next year is going to be the most important year of my career. That’s going to show me how my career is going to be. Of course that’s not going to happen like—sometimes you can’t control things—sometimes you cannot control if it’s not in your hands. You can just keep going, keep working, keep being a pro. I just learned how to be a pro here. Here is not just an organization for me, here is a basketball culture for me, the Sixers. It is not an organization to me. I feel like I need to be really appreciative to be here, to be a part of this organization. So like I said, the free agency coming up right now, I’m really confident about it. I know I will get [an opportunity], but I don’t know where I am going to end up.”
On if this season was a reality check and if he has a chip on his shoulder…
“For me, it was a hard season, seriously, because I was the first guy who asked for a trade. And then like six, seven players left and then I stayed all the season, you know. It was a really tough season for me to get used to everything, to deal with all of this stuff. And then I started to play. That was also the NBA. I started to play after the trade happened. I got some serious minutes for this basketball culture, for the Sixers. Like I said, to have been here, I’m really proud of them. I’m really proud to have been here. That’s all I can say.”
On goals for offseason…
“Physical-wise, when I first got to Philly, I was like—this is a small example—I was like 175 pounds. Right now I’m like 218 [pounds]. So this is also a big difference. I just need to get more cut, I need to take my body fat down. That’s my first goal. And then basketball-wise, on the court, I need to be [a] more consistent three-point shooter. I think that’s going to be my career. So I will just keep getting better like every year, every summer. This summer is also going to be really important for me after the free agent stuff. I will just keep doing what I’m doing, try to get better [at] every part of the game. And then I think I will be fine.”