This Saric fascination is the weirdest and most inexplicable phenomenon I've ever encountered on this board.
Yes. Is this some part of really extended gag by one or two posters together? He is a really nice bench player or perhaps an average starter if everything breaks right. Most Philly fans are thinking about ways to make him the bench scorer facilitator. He also only put up some big numbers in the last 3rd of the season when literally 25% of the league was tanking. During this same time players like Skal Labassiere, WCS and Buddy Hield put up really big numbers in meaningless game also. Why we would consider giving up a 2x all-star for a role player really has me scratching my head.
Also do people realize he has played professionally for years and is already 23? He obviously isn't old, but he is a full 3 years older than someone like Jaylen Brown. Someone please explain this phenomenon to me.
It's mind-boggling. I read Liberty Ballers occasionally, but I always tend to read it a bit more when the draft rolls around. Saric is universally viewed as a bench player over there. Why Celtics fans are convinced he's some star is baffling.
Is he viewed as a bench player because they have Embiid and Simmons or because they think he is a bench player? I mean Crowder is starting here, but should be a bench player and is viewed as such by much of this board. Heck people on here think Thomas should come off the bench. Saric was a lottery pick when everyone in the draft knew he was staying in Europe for at least 2 years. That just doesn't happen. He showed pretty nice potential down the stretch when he got playing time (much the same way Brown did for Boston or Hield for Sacramento, etc.). He is older because of his Europe time, but he also improved a great deal in his one season and will likely be the rookie of the year.
Winning rookie of the year this year is kind of like winning smartest Kardashian girl. There just was not a lot of contenders. To put this in perspective, He may not have even made an all-rookie team last year because I am pretty sure everyone would have him behind, Towns, Turner, Porzginas, Okafor (strong stats his rookie year and not fully exposed). He would be on second team conversation with Jokic and others (he scored a few more but rebounded, passed, stealed, blocked and shot significantly worse than Jokic).
To be honest, I think that is the same reason he is being overrated the same way MCW once was.
With respect to your first question, they aren't thinking he is 50 50 to be a bench player because of who is on their team, but because he has limitations and would seem to be ideal for being a facilitator/scorer off the bench.
Here is a quote from Sixers Sense "As they seek to turn the proverbial corner next season, though, Saric’s minutes are best used outside of the starting rotation, where his defensive deficiencies are minimized and his offensive repertoire is utilized to it’s fullest potential."
"For everything Dario showcased in regards to offensive talent, he often neutralized — in some capacity — with iffy performances on the other end. The Croatian was clearly adjusting to the pace of the NBA game at times, getting outworked by strong isolation threats and outmaneuvered by sly off-ball operators.
He lacked the foot speed needed to contain quicker bigs off the bounce, while his athletic tools weren’t always up to par with some of the more imposing presences in the painted area."
https://thesixersense.com/2017/05/23/philadelphia-76ers-dario-saric-defensive-woes-6th-man/I think that is pretty fair. Also to your point of the Crowder comparison. I agree with you that Crowder is ideally coming off the bench unless he is surrounded by superstars that are a perfect fit for him (if he started on some team with Curry, Klay, Crowder, Durant, Good big he would work fine). Crowder has had his games and moments where he looked like he could be an above starter. For example, March of last season, he averaged nearly 16 points a game 5.5 rebounds and 2 steals on 50% shooting while playing above average defense. On the balance though he would be a great bench player. That is what Saric would be too.
Now Saric for Crowder would not be a fair trade because of contract and age and the potential for a lot more growth from Saric. However, trading him for IT is ridiculous.
I also do think if Saric came out last year that would lead to less bizarre hype for him and a better understanding of his skillset by the posters on this board bizarrely treating him like an 18 year old future all-star. I''ll point out again he is 3 years older than Brown.
