Winter is Here: Welcome Dario Saric

[BoomBap]

Nope, I wouldn't do that. Biid is our FP and if he stays healthy a Top 5 Player/MVP Candidate. Turner is a great player, but he's not gonna win us some ships. And the process is all about winning championships. I don't want to end up like the more talented Atlanta Hawks. I couldn't care less about some playoff streaks or conference titles. I want to see the Sixers win it all!

You mean like the 2017 Boston Celtics?

[ziggy77]

Some highlights from the last game

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[TTP]

Dario is not a good fit for Sixers and Sixers are a terrible fit for him. Sixers are loaded with young talent and there is just no place in the team for Saric. It would be great for all parties if a trade can be worked out that benefits everyone. He is an unbelievably good player but will struggle in Philly. I hope I am wrong.

The only way that he becomes a bad fit is if he becomes so good that he has to start. Coming off the bench and playing 28-30 minutes a night is a great role for him, and he will be terrific leading the second unit, and then playing with the starters late in games based on foul trouble or matchups.


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He's a bad fit in the sense that if you're eventually playing Simmons 36 mpg and Saric 24 mpg, you're committing to playing them together for at least 12 mpg, which is pretty far from ideal given that neither spaces, neither is a positive defender, and you're marginalizing each of their strengths..

Also I'd rather Brown just stagger Simmons and Fultz so that one is on the floor at all times. Those guys would lead whichever unit is out.

[Ericb5]

Dario is not a good fit for Sixers and Sixers are a terrible fit for him. Sixers are loaded with young talent and there is just no place in the team for Saric. It would be great for all parties if a trade can be worked out that benefits everyone. He is an unbelievably good player but will struggle in Philly. I hope I am wrong.

The only way that he becomes a bad fit is if he becomes so good that he has to start. Coming off the bench and playing 28-30 minutes a night is a great role for him, and he will be terrific leading the second unit, and then playing with the starters late in games based on foul trouble or matchups.


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He's a bad fit in the sense that if you're eventually playing Simmons 36 mpg and Saric 24 mpg, you're committing to playing them together for at least 12 mpg, which is pretty far from ideal given that neither spaces, neither is a positive defender, and you're marginalizing each of their strengths..

Also I'd rather Brown just stagger Simmons and Fultz so that one is on the floor at all times. Those guys would lead whichever unit is out.

I don't know why you assume that Simmons won't be a positive defender. I mean maybe not right away, but he projects as a good if not great defender eventually.

You are also assuming that Saric isn't spacing the floor, but he has improved a lot in recent years with his outside shot, and I'm expecting him to improve further. I think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation.

When they play together you just put Simmons on the 3 defensively, and the 1 offensively, and Saric would play the 4 offensively and defensively.

I would rather start Covington with Simmons than Saric, but for stretches of games they should be fine. On some nights, with some matchups they might be terrific together.


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[Chris76]

The only way that he becomes a bad fit is if he becomes so good that he has to start. Coming off the bench and playing 28-30 minutes a night is a great role for him, and he will be terrific leading the second unit, and then playing with the starters late in games based on foul trouble or matchups.


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He's a bad fit in the sense that if you're eventually playing Simmons 36 mpg and Saric 24 mpg, you're committing to playing them together for at least 12 mpg, which is pretty far from ideal given that neither spaces, neither is a positive defender, and you're marginalizing each of their strengths..

Also I'd rather Brown just stagger Simmons and Fultz so that one is on the floor at all times. Those guys would lead whichever unit is out.

I don't know why you assume that Simmons won't be a positive defender. I mean maybe not right away, but he projects as a good if not great defender eventually.

You are also assuming that Saric isn't spacing the floor, but he has improved a lot in recent years with his outside shot, and I'm expecting him to improve further. I think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation.

When they play together you just put Simmons on the 3 defensively, and the 1 offensively, and Saric would play the 4 offensively and defensively.

I would rather start Covington with Simmons than Saric, but for stretches of games they should be fine. On some nights, with some matchups they might be terrific together.


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Good points. It's interesting how people judge player's differently. I'm hoping Simmons can defend the elite SFs like KD, Lebron, Giannis, and others. Covington will try but he may not be strong enough. Simmons and Saric may be good options, much stronger.

Saric seems to be a good shooter. He creates his own shot and has good mechanics for a big man. Sure, he may have forced things last year, but I give him credit for taking on the challenge. Also, he was a rookie and should improve.

Saric, Okafor, Stauskus, and a few others should have improved #s this year. Their past #s could be misleading for many different reasons, tanking, not ready, unhealthy, and others. This year #s should be closer to the truth.

[ivysixer2000]

The only way that he becomes a bad fit is if he becomes so good that he has to start. Coming off the bench and playing 28-30 minutes a night is a great role for him, and he will be terrific leading the second unit, and then playing with the starters late in games based on foul trouble or matchups.


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He's a bad fit in the sense that if you're eventually playing Simmons 36 mpg and Saric 24 mpg, you're committing to playing them together for at least 12 mpg, which is pretty far from ideal given that neither spaces, neither is a positive defender, and you're marginalizing each of their strengths..

Also I'd rather Brown just stagger Simmons and Fultz so that one is on the floor at all times. Those guys would lead whichever unit is out.

I don't know why you assume that Simmons won't be a positive defender. I mean maybe not right away, but he projects as a good if not great defender eventually.

You are also assuming that Saric isn't spacing the floor, but he has improved a lot in recent years with his outside shot, and I'm expecting him to improve further. I think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation.

When they play together you just put Simmons on the 3 defensively, and the 1 offensively, and Saric would play the 4 offensively and defensively.

I would rather start Covington with Simmons than Saric, but for stretches of games they should be fine. On some nights, with some matchups they might be terrific together.


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Yeah there are some teams out there that will have huge problems with a big frontline of 3 guys 6'10" and above on the court together. Throw RoCo out there and it becomes a huge lineup. Dario will have his place here, even if we go real small with him.

I figure his shooting is improving right now, but too much concentration on that and not enough on the big lineup we could throw out there on a team like the Celtics for a lil while.

[TTP]

The only way that he becomes a bad fit is if he becomes so good that he has to start. Coming off the bench and playing 28-30 minutes a night is a great role for him, and he will be terrific leading the second unit, and then playing with the starters late in games based on foul trouble or matchups.


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He's a bad fit in the sense that if you're eventually playing Simmons 36 mpg and Saric 24 mpg, you're committing to playing them together for at least 12 mpg, which is pretty far from ideal given that neither spaces, neither is a positive defender, and you're marginalizing each of their strengths..

Also I'd rather Brown just stagger Simmons and Fultz so that one is on the floor at all times. Those guys would lead whichever unit is out.

I don't know why you assume that Simmons won't be a positive defender. I mean maybe not right away, but he projects as a good if not great defender eventually.

You are also assuming that Saric isn't spacing the floor, but he has improved a lot in recent years with his outside shot, and I'm expecting him to improve further. I think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation.

When they play together you just put Simmons on the 3 defensively, and the 1 offensively, and Saric would play the 4 offensively and defensively.

I would rather start Covington with Simmons than Saric, but for stretches of games they should be fine. On some nights, with some matchups they might be terrific together.


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I definitely don't think he projects as a great defender, and a lot of his defensive value is going to come from his rebounding, which is marginalized playing him at the 3 with Saric on the floor.

I don't think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation at all.

Why would Saric and Simmons be terrific together? Both players need the ball in their hands to be effective, especially Simmons. I expect our efficiency on both ends to plummet when both are on the floor together.

[ziggy77]

We will see guys how this will pan out. We have time to try all options regarding lineups. Let's not rush things. There is also option with playing them at PF-C alongside SF-PF and PG-PF

[Ericb5]

He's a bad fit in the sense that if you're eventually playing Simmons 36 mpg and Saric 24 mpg, you're committing to playing them together for at least 12 mpg, which is pretty far from ideal given that neither spaces, neither is a positive defender, and you're marginalizing each of their strengths..

Also I'd rather Brown just stagger Simmons and Fultz so that one is on the floor at all times. Those guys would lead whichever unit is out.

I don't know why you assume that Simmons won't be a positive defender. I mean maybe not right away, but he projects as a good if not great defender eventually.

You are also assuming that Saric isn't spacing the floor, but he has improved a lot in recent years with his outside shot, and I'm expecting him to improve further. I think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation.

When they play together you just put Simmons on the 3 defensively, and the 1 offensively, and Saric would play the 4 offensively and defensively.

I would rather start Covington with Simmons than Saric, but for stretches of games they should be fine. On some nights, with some matchups they might be terrific together.


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I definitely don't think he projects as a great defender, and a lot of his defensive value is going to come from his rebounding, which is marginalized playing him at the 3 with Saric on the floor.

I don't think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation at all.

Why would Saric and Simmons be terrific together? Both players need the ball in their hands to be effective, especially Simmons. I expect our efficiency on both ends to plummet when both are on the floor together.

As I said, it would depend on matchups for them to be terrific together. I think that Simmons is a franchise player, and Saric is a 6th man type. Most of their minutes will be spent apart. Simmons at the very least projects to be a positive defender, and he could be better than that. He has the foot and hand speed to be a great defender of forwards. He doesn't have the defensive limitations that Saric has for example.

I don't see why you aren't optimistic about Saric's ability to shoot 36% from 3. He has improved steadily, works hard on his game, and has good form. He also is going to be much more wide open and set when shooting this year. I also disagree that he has to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He is a jack of all trades type of player that finds ways to contribute.

The proof will be in the pudding this year, but I think that a Simmons and Saric's are both versatile players that can work in a variety of lineups.



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[TTP]

I don't know why you assume that Simmons won't be a positive defender. I mean maybe not right away, but he projects as a good if not great defender eventually.

You are also assuming that Saric isn't spacing the floor, but he has improved a lot in recent years with his outside shot, and I'm expecting him to improve further. I think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation.

When they play together you just put Simmons on the 3 defensively, and the 1 offensively, and Saric would play the 4 offensively and defensively.

I would rather start Covington with Simmons than Saric, but for stretches of games they should be fine. On some nights, with some matchups they might be terrific together.


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I definitely don't think he projects as a great defender, and a lot of his defensive value is going to come from his rebounding, which is marginalized playing him at the 3 with Saric on the floor.

I don't think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation at all.

Why would Saric and Simmons be terrific together? Both players need the ball in their hands to be effective, especially Simmons. I expect our efficiency on both ends to plummet when both are on the floor together.

As I said, it would depend on matchups for them to be terrific together. I think that Simmons is a franchise player, and Saric is a 6th man type. Most of their minutes will be spent apart. Simmons at the very least projects to be a positive defender, and he could be better than that. He has the foot and hand speed to be a great defender of forwards. He doesn't have the defensive limitations that Saric has for example.

I don't see why you aren't optimistic about Saric's ability to shoot 36% from 3. He has improved steadily, works hard on his game, and has good form. He also is going to be much more wide open and set when shooting this year. I also disagree that he has to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He is a jack of all trades type of player that finds ways to contribute.

The proof will be in the pudding this year, but I think that a Simmons and Saric's are both versatile players that can work in a variety of lineups.



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I don't know what you mean by "Saric is a 6th man type". That's just using vague terminology without really considering how their skillsets mesh. I've already identified that they are likely going to have to play at least 12 minutes together, and in those 12 minutes, you're going to have two guys whose skillset requires them to have the ball in their hands to be effective on offense. I don't see how any matchups would allow them to be terrific together (your words).

Saric was already wide open a ton last year (46% of his attempts with 6+ ft of space, 91% of his attempts with 4+ ft of space) and shot poorly. It's possible it was a sample size issue, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt there yet.

I don't think Saric is versatile either. I doubt he can defend more than one position and I don't think he's the type of player that can fit into a lot of different lineups seamlessly like a 3 and D wing can. I'd argue that on the spectrum of versatility, Saric's archetype is among the least versatile.

[Kirk Van Houten]

Saric not versatile ? He's 6'10 can pass and dribble like a guard & his shot is reliable. Not to mention hustles like hell on defense. It's almost like you have never seen him play.


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[TTP]

Saric not versatile ? He's 6'10 can pass and dribble like a guard & his shot is reliable. Not to mention hustles like hell on defense. It's almost like you have never seen him play.


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Let's break down all of the things you said:

Theory: 6'10

Reality: While he measures 6'10 tall, his wingspan is only 6'10, so even though he has the height for his position, his wingspan is very poor relative to other bigs. This limits him tremendously on defense but it also could be a problem on offense. He does not finish well at the rim - 59.9% within 3 feet is poor for a big.

Theory: Can pass and dribble like a guard

Reality: He makes a lot of flashy passes but he had an assist to turnover ratio less than 1 (2.2 ast/g, 2.3 TO/g). The aesthetics of his passing mask the fact that his actual passing production does not live up to perception.

Theory: Shot is reliable

Reality: He shot 31.1% from 3 on 341 attempts last season. He shot 27.5% on another 138 attempts from long two. A very large percentage of his attempts from 3 were deemed open or wide open by NBA.com (46% of his attempts with 6+ ft of space, 91% of his attempts with 4+ ft of space). Given that spacing, the resulting percentages are atrocious. It's possible that there's a small sample size issue, but you certainly can't say that his shot is reliable at the moment.

Theory: Hustles on defense

Reality: DRPM had him as one of the worst defenders at his position and this is backed up by the eye test and the expectations based on his physical tools. He has a very short wingspan, is not athletic, and doesn't generate turnovers. No matter how much he hustles, I think there's no chance that he's going to be able to be a primary rim protector, nor do I think that he's going to be capable of chasing wings around the perimeter, which is going to restrict him to guarding primarily opposing 4s.

Conclusion: I've stated this previously but I think people overrate Saric for a number of reasons. They appreciate his hustle. They appreciate him keeping his word and forgoing future money to come over. They appreciate the aesthetics of his game. As humans, we're conditioned to place extra value on these things and it prevents us from being able to rationally examine his production. We've also seen evidence of his shooting and passing in Europe, but the NBA is a much tougher league with much tougher competition. People take it as a given that all of these skills will translate to the NBA for Saric, when the evidence so far indicates otherwise. We'll know more after another year of play and data.

When I think of a versatile player, I think of a player that can be fit into several different roles, defending several different types of players. Saric doesn't appear to be that right now - he's limited to defending one position and his offensive role right now is functioning as an inefficient first option playmaker (inefficient both as a passer and scorer). He hasn't commanded the respect off ball to stand in the corner like a traditional stretch 4. He hasn't been efficient as an interior post dump option. He isn't an efficient pick and roll finisher. I fail to see how his current production proves him to be versatile.

[agiaco]

Saric not versatile ? He's 6'10 can pass and dribble like a guard & his shot is reliable. Not to mention hustles like hell on defense. It's almost like you have never seen him play.


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Let's break down all of the things you said:

Theory: 6'10

Reality: While he measures 6'10 tall, his wingspan is only 6'10, so even though he has the height for his position, his wingspan is very poor relative to other bigs. This limits him tremendously on defense but it also could be a problem on offense. He does not finish well at the rim - 59.9% within 3 feet is poor for a big.

Theory: Can pass and dribble like a guard

Reality: He makes a lot of flashy passes but he had an assist to turnover ratio less than 1 (2.2 ast/g, 2.3 TO/g). The aesthetics of his passing mask the fact that his actual passing production does not live up to perception.

Theory: Shot is reliable

Reality: He shot 31.1% from 3 on 341 attempts last season. He shot 27.5% on another 138 attempts from long two. A very large percentage of his attempts from 3 were deemed open or wide open by NBA.com (46% of his attempts with 6+ ft of space, 91% of his attempts with 4+ ft of space). Given that spacing, the resulting percentages are atrocious. It's possible that there's a small sample size issue, but you certainly can't say that his shot is reliable at the moment.

Theory: Hustles on defense

Reality: DRPM had him as one of the worst defenders at his position and this is backed up by the eye test and the expectations based on his physical tools. He has a very short wingspan, is not athletic, and doesn't generate turnovers. No matter how much he hustles, I think there's no chance that he's going to be able to be a primary rim protector, nor do I think that he's going to be capable of chasing wings around the perimeter, which is going to restrict him to guarding primarily opposing 4s.

Conclusion: I've stated this previously but I think people overrate Saric for a number of reasons. They appreciate his hustle. They appreciate him keeping his word and forgoing future money to come over. They appreciate the aesthetics of his game. As humans, we're conditioned to place extra value on these things and it prevents us from being able to rationally examine his production. We've also seen evidence of his shooting and passing in Europe, but the NBA is a much tougher league with much tougher competition. People take it as a given that all of these skills will translate to the NBA for Saric, when the evidence so far indicates otherwise. We'll know more after another year of play and data.

You can break every little thing down but I still would say he's versatile. He's only going to get better. Anyone who watches him can see he's a skilled and versatile player regardless of stats in his rookie year on a terrible team. Efficiency will improve when he's not the number one option for a stretch. Literally was our best guy playing for a while toward the end last season.

[TTP]

You can break every little thing down but I still would say he's versatile. He's only going to get better. Anyone who watches him can see he's a skilled and versatile player regardless of stats in his rookie year on a terrible team. Efficiency will improve when he's not the number one option for a stretch. Literally was our best guy playing for a while toward the end last season.

Your first sentence reads like: "You've provided a lot of evidence but I'm going to ignore it all and stick with my initial beliefs without providing any evidence to support them." You can't just discard an entire year's worth of information because the team was bad.

Did the definition of the word versatile change recently and I'm unaware? A quick google search shows that this is the definition:

"able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities"

What are the many different functions that Saric adapts to? Certainly nothing on the defensive end.

His efficiency was awful when he wasn't the number one option for the first 3-4 months of the season. He probably gets better, but he's already 23 and has years of experience playing professional ball. If people want to use the argument that a 22 year old that played in Europe for years should be significantly more pro-ready than a kid out of college, it stands to reason that one would expect significantly less improvement than a 19 year old coming out of college.

He wasn't the best guy playing toward the end of the season. Covington was undoubtedly better. No one else was particularly great.

[ziggy77]

You can break every little thing down but I still would say he's versatile. He's only going to get better. Anyone who watches him can see he's a skilled and versatile player regardless of stats in his rookie year on a terrible team. Efficiency will improve when he's not the number one option for a stretch. Literally was our best guy playing for a while toward the end last season.

Your first sentence reads like: "You've provided a lot of evidence but I'm going to ignore it all and stick with my initial beliefs without providing any evidence to support them." You can't just discard an entire year's worth of information because the team was bad.

Did the definition of the word versatile change recently and I'm unaware? A quick google search shows that this is the definition:

"able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities"

What are the many different functions that Saric adapts to? Certainly nothing on the defensive end.

His efficiency was awful when he wasn't the number one option for the first 3-4 months of the season. He probably gets better, but he's already 23 and has years of experience playing professional ball. If people want to use the argument that a 22 year old that played in Europe for years should be significantly more pro-ready than a kid out of college, it stands to reason that one would expect significantly less improvement than a 19 year old coming out of college.

He wasn't the best guy playing toward the end of the season. Covington was undoubtedly better. No one else was particularly great.

You need take to account that his first half of a season was him adjusting, that is normal, especially for euro guys. You can't judge a guy based on only 1 season and just by looking at the stats. Lot of scouts go with the eye test when it comes to first and second season.

You can argue that he was 22 in the rookie season but also you need to understand that he is euro guy who played in a different system with different type of basketball his whole career.

Also his stats after allstar game were a lot better (total and percentage wise), and his final totals were ok (percentages no so, i agree).

[Ericb5]

I definitely don't think he projects as a great defender, and a lot of his defensive value is going to come from his rebounding, which is marginalized playing him at the 3 with Saric on the floor.

I don't think 36-38% from 3 this year is a reasonable expectation at all.

Why would Saric and Simmons be terrific together? Both players need the ball in their hands to be effective, especially Simmons. I expect our efficiency on both ends to plummet when both are on the floor together.

As I said, it would depend on matchups for them to be terrific together. I think that Simmons is a franchise player, and Saric is a 6th man type. Most of their minutes will be spent apart. Simmons at the very least projects to be a positive defender, and he could be better than that. He has the foot and hand speed to be a great defender of forwards. He doesn't have the defensive limitations that Saric has for example.

I don't see why you aren't optimistic about Saric's ability to shoot 36% from 3. He has improved steadily, works hard on his game, and has good form. He also is going to be much more wide open and set when shooting this year. I also disagree that he has to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He is a jack of all trades type of player that finds ways to contribute.

The proof will be in the pudding this year, but I think that a Simmons and Saric's are both versatile players that can work in a variety of lineups.



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I don't know what you mean by "Saric is a 6th man type". That's just using vague terminology without really considering how their skillsets mesh. I've already identified that they are likely going to have to play at least 12 minutes together, and in those 12 minutes, you're going to have two guys whose skillset requires them to have the ball in their hands to be effective on offense. I don't see how any matchups would allow them to be terrific together (your words).

Saric was already wide open a ton last year (46% of his attempts with 6+ ft of space, 91% of his attempts with 4+ ft of space) and shot poorly. It's possible it was a sample size issue, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt there yet.

I don't think Saric is versatile either. I doubt he can defend more than one position and I don't think he's the type of player that can fit into a lot of different lineups seamlessly like a 3 and D wing can. I'd argue that on the spectrum of versatility, Saric's archetype is among the least versatile.

I mean he is a 6th man type in the sense that he isn't a starter, but will play a lot of minutes off of the bench, and mostly against backups. 12 minutes a night is not a lot of minutes to worry about, and I think that some nights those 12 minutes will be more effective than others based on matchups.

Saric is versatile in the sense that he can make himself useful in a number of different ways. I still think he is basically a 4 on offense and defense, but Simmons can be a 1, or 4 on offense, and a 3, or 4 on defense so he and Saric will be able to share the floor. It isn't a situation where Okafor and Noel had to have one of them out of position to share the floor with the other.

Saric's shooting performance last year was inconsistent, where he had good and bad months. His whole season was inconsistent actually, but he was playing his best by the end of the year, and I am expecting him to improve. If he doesn't, then he doesn't, but I think that he CAN play with the ball in his hands, or he CAN play a more traditional stretch 4 role, and when he shares the floor with Simmons he would do so in the stretch 4 capacity.

[LloydFree]

As I said, it would depend on matchups for them to be terrific together. I think that Simmons is a franchise player, and Saric is a 6th man type. Most of their minutes will be spent apart. Simmons at the very least projects to be a positive defender, and he could be better than that. He has the foot and hand speed to be a great defender of forwards. He doesn't have the defensive limitations that Saric has for example.

I don't see why you aren't optimistic about Saric's ability to shoot 36% from 3. He has improved steadily, works hard on his game, and has good form. He also is going to be much more wide open and set when shooting this year. I also disagree that he has to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He is a jack of all trades type of player that finds ways to contribute.

The proof will be in the pudding this year, but I think that a Simmons and Saric's are both versatile players that can work in a variety of lineups.



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I don't know what you mean by "Saric is a 6th man type". That's just using vague terminology without really considering how their skillsets mesh. I've already identified that they are likely going to have to play at least 12 minutes together, and in those 12 minutes, you're going to have two guys whose skillset requires them to have the ball in their hands to be effective on offense. I don't see how any matchups would allow them to be terrific together (your words).

Saric was already wide open a ton last year (46% of his attempts with 6+ ft of space, 91% of his attempts with 4+ ft of space) and shot poorly. It's possible it was a sample size issue, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt there yet.

I don't think Saric is versatile either. I doubt he can defend more than one position and I don't think he's the type of player that can fit into a lot of different lineups seamlessly like a 3 and D wing can. I'd argue that on the spectrum of versatility, Saric's archetype is among the least versatile.

I mean he is a 6th man type in the sense that he isn't a starter, but will play a lot of minutes off of the bench, and mostly against backups...

Well. Yeah. That's all he is, so there is no argument.

[Chris76]

I don't know what you mean by "Saric is a 6th man type". That's just using vague terminology without really considering how their skillsets mesh. I've already identified that they are likely going to have to play at least 12 minutes together, and in those 12 minutes, you're going to have two guys whose skillset requires them to have the ball in their hands to be effective on offense. I don't see how any matchups would allow them to be terrific together (your words).

Saric was already wide open a ton last year (46% of his attempts with 6+ ft of space, 91% of his attempts with 4+ ft of space) and shot poorly. It's possible it was a sample size issue, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt there yet.

I don't think Saric is versatile either. I doubt he can defend more than one position and I don't think he's the type of player that can fit into a lot of different lineups seamlessly like a 3 and D wing can. I'd argue that on the spectrum of versatility, Saric's archetype is among the least versatile.

I mean he is a 6th man type in the sense that he isn't a starter, but will play a lot of minutes off of the bench, and mostly against backups...

Well. Yeah. That's all he is, so there is no argument.

Probably, 60% of the league aren't starters, you can't just put 10 starters on a team. You're gonna have some players that aren't perfect.

The key is to get 2 or 3 stars and surround them with hard working role players. Saric, Covington, Okafor, and Stauskus could be such players. Analytics are great, but sometimes can be misleading.

[kriss73]

According to the Sixers, Dario can pass.

Read on Twitter

By the way, great game for him vs Spain today.
A loss, but he had a nice effort

[CoreyGallagher]

18 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks against Spain. Hit 4 clutch free throws to cut lead to 1 in final minute.