Furkan Korkmaz Agrees to Two-Year Contract with 76ers

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Furkan Korkmaz has reportedly reached an agreement on a two-year contract to remain with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. 

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

Korkmaz, who was drafted by Philadelphia with the 26th pick in the first round in 2016, has struggled to crack the team's rotation on a permanent basis in his first two years in the NBA. He averaged 5.8 points in 14.1 minutes per game through 48 games last season before missing a big portion of the second half of the year due to a torn meniscus.

The 76ers are bringing Korkmaz back to the team as an unrestricted free agent after they let him go to free agency. He was not happy with how he was handled by Philadelphia, who had declined the third-year option on his contract to let him hit free agency this offseason. 

The Turkish native has not yet been able to put everything together since being drafted in the NBA. However, he was a good player in Turkey while playing both professionally and nationally prior to being drafted in the NBA. He has the ability to be a solid rotational player in the NBA, but things just have yet to click for him. 

One of Korkmaz's best skills is his ability to shoot from 3-point range. Since being drafted in 2016, Korkmaz has shot only 32.3 percent from outside on a total of 161 attempts. The 76ers are taking a low-risk gamble that Korkmaz will begin to shoot more like he did while playing in Turkey.

Even if Korkmaz improves his shooting percentages in the NBA, he is still going to be a very limited player in the NBA. However, the 76ers are looking for some cheap production off the bench and have a need for players who can shoot from 3-point range. Korkmaz, if he impresses during training camp and the preseason, could be looking at a small role in the 76ers regular-season rotation. If he fails to impress, the 76ers could potentially choose to cut their loses and release him back into free agency. 

The contract includes guaranteed money only for the first year of the deal, according to Wojnarowski.