Dario Saric was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, by the Magic, but once Philadelphia acquired him, the plan was for him to remain in Europe for at least two more seasons.
Saric wanted to come over this year, but couldn't get out of his current contract in order to do so. Many believe he's NBA-ready now, and that includes Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who had the unpleasant experience of being guarded by Saric during international play this summer.
“He had a great game, he made some big shots for them, hit some threes,” Nowitzki said of Saric’s performance, via Max Rappaport of Sixers.com. When asked if the young forward was ready to make the jump stateside, he was equally enthusiastic. “He plays hard, he’s skilled, and he can shoot, so yeah, sure.”
"Nowitzki was held to 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting in Friday’s game, in large part due to the efforts of Saric. And while the young Croatian scored just two points to go along with three rebounds and a pair of assists in , he once again helped shut down Germany’s go-to scorer, holding Nowitzki to just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting while helping Croatia coast to an 80-63 win."
Saric is skilled, but he might be a duplication in terms of talent on the Sixers roster. Philadelphia already has a loaded frontcourt with Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, so adding another defensive big to the rotation may not be ideal.
But the Sixers are accumulating assets, which they of course could flip for talent at other positions when that time comes.
(h/t: Sixers.com)
