Dario Saric Reportedly to Sign with 76ers
Croatian power forward Dario Saric has reportedly made up his mind on what team he'll play for in the 2016-17 season.
Saric plans to sign with the 76ers on Friday, according to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly. 76ers GM Bryan Colangelo informed Saric's Turkish club they will be signing him, according to basketball reporter David Pick, who added there is a €1 million buyout.
"I'm going back home and then to the USA for the [76ers]," Saric said on July 9, per EuroHoops.net.
On July 7, Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times had suggested otherwise.
A league source told Moore that the money Saric was making while playing professionally in Turkey along with the 76ers taking Ben Simmons first overall in June might of led to Saric staying overseas:
"He makes 1.5 million Euros ($1.66 million US) playing in Turkey. It's a comfortable living. Why come over and risk that and go back to the rookie-scale contract when you've completed two-thirds of not having to be on the rookie scale? This is before the draft. ...
He's not coming over to be a backup. Why would he come over now? How is he going to play?
"
Moore's source added that Simmons is the superior athlete, as his all-around game made him the can't-miss talent of the 2016 draft class. Saric, on the other hand, "is never going to be a star."
If Saric played his third year with Anadolu Efes of the Euroleague, he would have had an opportunity to make more than double the $9 million he's expected to make over his first four seasons with the 76ers, per Moore.
The 76ers are stacked with young bigs such as Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid to go along with Simmons. Saric has an uphill battle to prove his worth on a suddenly formidable 76ers roster.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
