Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
Could Dario Saric come to the Sixers this year after all?
Saric, who the Sixers acquired in a draft day trade with the Orlando Magic during the 2014 NBA Draft, is currently under contract with Turkish powerhouse, Anadolu Efes through the 2016-2017 season. He signed the three-year deal just days before the 2014 NBA Draft, which includes an opt-out clause that he can trigger during the summer of 2016.
Thus, most people have assumed that Saric will not join the 76ers until at least 2016.
However, reports have emerged that the 76ers are trying to speed up that process by buying out Saric's contract now. David Pick, an international basketball reporter, broke the news yesterday on Twitter:
Philadelphia in talks to lure overseas asset Dario Saric to U.S., I'm told. He is under contract and Turks love him.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 10, 2015
There are several hurdles to Saric coming over. First and most obviously, there is no opt-out clause for this year. Meaning the Sixers and Andaolu Efes would have to negotiate a new opt-out clause in the contract.
Andaolu Efes has all the leverage here; it simply can say no and require Saric to stay in Turkey another season. This would not come as a shock given that Andaolu Efes is playing in the Turkish league championship due in large part to Saric's stellar play: he is averaging 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the playoffs so far.
It also makes little financial sense for Saric to come over in 2015. Per cap expert Larry Coon, the Sixers can only contribute $625,000.00 towards the opt-out clause, meaning Saric would have to pay the remaining balance himself. Derek Bodner of LibertyBallers.com estimates that figure could be at least $2 million, meaning Saric would need to self-fund the remaining $1.375 million.
The Sixers could alleviate some of that financial burden by offering Saric a larger contract. Per Derek Bodner:
For the 12th pick in the 2014 NBA draft, the NBA slots a first year salary of $1,803,400. 120% of that gives a max that they can allocate towards Saric as $2,164,080, of which Saric must receive $1,442,720 (80% of $1,803,400). This means that the Sixers can give Saric another ~$721k towards a buyout this season. Since signing bonuses are based off of the percentage of guaranteed salary, and first round picks have the first two seasons fully guaranteed, a similar bonus can be done for year two of Saric's contract. Giving the Sixers the ability to contribute $600k towards Saric's buyout, and also allowing Saric to get up to ~$1.5 million of his guaranteed salary up front, which he can use towards the buyout.
In theory, the additional $1.5 million, coupled with the $625,000 that the Sixers can contribute, could fully cover the opt-out payment. Which might explain why the Sixers are at least exploring the option now as opposed to waiting until next summer.
But I would not get my hopes up too soon about Saric coming over this summer. The Sixers are likely just doing their due diligence to see if there is any chance that Saric could join the team sooner. They would likely be committing managerial malpractice if they did not at least explore the possibility.
And not to be a complete Debbie Downer, but there is actually reason to believe Saric might wait until 2017 to come to the NBA.
Per the CBA rules, a player is tied to his rookie wage scale for three seasons from the date he was drafted. If Saric waited to come to the NBA until 2017, he will be outside that three year limit and can sign a contract for a higher dollar amount. So instead of signing a deal for $2.1 million, he would likely command a contract worth upwards of $15 million.
Bulls rookie Nikola Mirotic did precisely this, waiting until this past offseason to sign with the Bulls after being selected 23rd overall in the 2011 draft. The financial windfall? Instead of signing a max contract worth $1.2 million, he was able to get a multi-year deal that includes escalators of up to $16 million.
So while it is still possible that Saric comes over before 2017, he has several million reasons why he could wait.
For the first time in a long time, there is legitimate excitement surrounding the 76ers. While Nerlens Noel will never be a franchise caliber player, he showed last year that he can become an elite defender in the mold of Marcus Camby moving forward. If healthy, Joel Embiid has the chance to be a transcendent two-way player on the post that the league has not seen in a long time.
The third overall pick should land them either D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay, two exciting point guard prospects with high ceilings (we've done in-depth scouting reports on both here and here). They also have four first round picks for the 2016 NBA draft.
This mix of exciting young talent and high draft picks has caused veteran NBA writer Chris Sheridan declared that they are the next big dynasty in the NBA. Adding Saric to that mix next season will only increase that excitement level around the team.
Whether that happens this year, next year or the year after remains to be seen. But it is clear that the 76ers are heading in the right direction. And that, in and of itself, is reason for excitement.
