What to expect from Dario Saric?

[Hoop Head]

It seems he didn't get a "Welcome" thread like Kaminsky, Baynes, Cam Johnson, Ty Jerome, or any of the offseason acquisitions did. Not sure how that happened. I guess with the draft day trades though more people were trying to make sense of what went down than thinking of what Saric may bring.

Saric will be entering his 4th year as a pro in the NBA next year despite being drafted 12th back in 2014. He stayed overseas for a while after he was drafted but came over when "The Process" started trying to turn the corner in Philly. He finished in 2nd place in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 behind Malcolm Brogdon but that was a weak rookie class that year. Saric showed he was ready to contribute in the NBA right away so staying in Europe worked for the best.

He's 25 now and will be throughout next season as he turns 26 in April. That places him much closer in age to Booker (23) and Ayton (21) than some of our offseason acquisitions like Rubio (29) and Baynes (33). Should he fit well though we'll be able to resign him or match any offer he receives since he will be a restricted free agent next offseason, provided we extend a qualifying offer to him. His qualifying offer will be $4.7 million and cap hold will be $10.4 million according to Spotrac. So it's good to know that we have the ability to lock him down for the future if he works out well here.

I know he's not a shotblocking PF like a Serge Ibaka, which would probably be the ideal PF to pair with Ayton, but he's someone who can play with a scoring Center, he's done it with Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns already. He has shown enough that it's reasonable to think he can be a good role playing PF for us next season. He's not ancient like Ryan Anderson.


So what do people hope to see from him next year? What would he need to do for you to think the Suns should extend the qualifying offer to him, at the least?

 

[Hoop Head]

Some stats for him. He averaged 12.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 2.2 apg for the season as a rookie but in the final 36 games of the season he was made a starter and stepped up his play some to 15.1 ppg with 7 rpg, & 3 apg. His 2nd year proved better in terms of efficiency, raising his shooting from 41% to 45% from the field and from 31% from 31% to 39% from 3pt range. His scoring stayed about the same at 14.6 with 6.7 rpg and 2.6 apg in 29.6 minutes a night as the starting PF for the Sixers.

His career numbers aren't all that impressive but I don't think they show the whole picture. I pulled the stats of him as a starter vs a sub since it seems he's most comfortable starting and that's likely what he'll be doing here. He's started approximately 60% of the games he's played so far, 150 starts in 240 games. Note, he was made a starter towards the end of his rookie year, stayed that way throughout year 2 and the beginning of year 3 and then moved to the bench upon arriving in Minnesota under Thibs but was made a starter later in the year after Thibs had been fired and started the final 27 games.

So as a starter he averaged 14.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, while shooting 44% from the field and 37% from 3. His shooting improved each year also, it seems, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's closer to 40% next season, which will make his FG go up also. If he could provide those number as a starter though, it will help a lot. 14 & 7 would be nice, especially if Ayton improves upon his 16 & 10.

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[taz02]

Can he play defense and rebound?

Its encouraging that he played with other skilled centers.

 

[1Sun]

Can he play defense and rebound?

No, and no.

 

[Hoop Head]

Can he play defense and rebound?

Its encouraging that he played with other skilled centers.

He's on ok defender, not good or bad. He did ok in Philly. If he's covering a stretch 4, I won't worry about his defense but if he's guarding someone who plays inside like a Derrick Favors type of PF then his defense might be an issue. Thankfully there aren't many PF's who play in the post anymore.

He's not a bad rebounder but he wasn't really in position to be crashing the boards either since he played with 2 great rebounding Centers in Embiid and KAT. I think his role on the boards will be similar to the guys in OKC with how they box out for Westbrook to get the boards. He may end up doing that for us to let Ayton snatch them or someone else. He can box out, but at 7 rebounds a game as a starter he's kind of middle of the pack as far as PF's are concerned.

He's young and likes Monty a lot, since we acquired him I would think Monty likes him as well. He could end up being what we need from the PF spot apart from not being a shot blocker but I think he'll be an upgrade over what we've used at PF since Markieff was here. He's better than Chriss, Bender, or Warren at PF. He is 6'10" and 230 also so he won't be outmatched physically night after night.

 

[Hoop Head]

There's also this, for people who like to get to know who is on the team a little more than just boxscores and stats.

Vice did a short documentary on how Drazen Petrovic helped pave the way for future European players and they focused on Dario Saric since he was born in the same town in Croatia, came up in the same area, and played for a lot of the same coaches that Drazen did back in the day. It's only a 20 minute video but probably half of it is spent with Dario. I saw this last year when it came out and it was interesting. Dario seems like a good kid.

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[taz02]

Thanks for all the info.

 

[Yuma]

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[1Sun]

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Better teammate than whom? Ryan Anderson was a tremendously hard worker and a fantastic teammate. Those qualities did us no good.

 

[Yuma]

Better teammate than whom? Ryan Anderson was a tremendously hard worker and a fantastic teammate. Those qualities did us no good.

It reads he is better teammate than he is a hard worker. The implication is he's a really hard worker, and an even better teammate as compared to himself. Not to anyone else.

 

[SunnyBaller]

Better teammate than whom? Ryan Anderson was a tremendously hard worker and a fantastic teammate. Those qualities did us no good.

You're right we need to start signing lazy selfish players if we ever wanna win.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Can he play defense and rebound?

Its encouraging that he played with other skilled centers.

Unequivocally no x 2

We have the one of the worst defensive Centers and a bottom 5 defensive 4.

 

[1Sun]

It reads he is better teammate than he is a hard worker. The implication is he's a really hard worker, and an even better teammate as compared to himself. Not to anyone else.

Ah. Got it. Still wish he had the talent and ability to match.

 

[1Sun]

You're right we need to start signing lazy selfish players if we ever wanna win.

Why does it have to be one or the other?

How about someone with legitimate NBA ability who is also a hard worker and good teammate?

 

[Yuma]

Why does it have to be one or the other?

How about someone with legitimate NBA ability who is also a hard worker and good teammate?

I would say him playing in the NBA is the definition of legitmate NBA ability.

 

[Finito]

Better teammate than whom? Ryan Anderson was a tremendously hard worker and a fantastic teammate. Those qualities did us no good.

Than TJ Warren

 

[Covert Rain]

Offensive spurts but awful awful defense.

 

[Finito]

Offensive spurts but awful awful defense.

That’s not really true. He’s middle of the road on defense

 

[1Sun]

I would say him playing in the NBA is the definition of legitmate NBA ability.

So would you say the same for the likes of Canaan, Harrison, Melton, Okobo, Jawun Evans, etc.?

 

[Covert Rain]

That’s not really true. He’s middle of the road on defense

No he is not. He is one of the worst rated forwards in the league. His DPRM, plus and minus have been posted in the other thread. He is truly awful.

 

[Yuma]

So would you say the same for the likes of Canaan, Harrison, Melton, Okobo, Jawun Evans, etc.?

Yep.

 

[1Sun]

Yep.

Well, I was an honorary member of the Suns for a game and sat on the bench when I was 10, so I guess that means I have legitimate NBA ability.

 

[Yuma]

Well, I was an honorary member of the Suns for a game and sat on the bench when I was 10, so I guess that means I have legitimate NBA ability.

nope

I was an honory woman for a day. What do you think? LOL.

 

[Raze]

That’s not really true. He’s middle of the road on defense

He's not middle of the road. He's easily bottom quarter for PFs on D.

When I watch him on film he seriously lacks the lateral movement to guard anything on the perimeter. He's not really much of a presence in the post and can't block shots and doesn't get steals (#28 in steals last year and dead last in blocked shots for PF). He's just an ok rebounder (#22 among PFs). There isn't anything I see on film that would put him out of the bottom quarter of PFs on D in the league. His stats support that. He's really bad.

As Covert Rain posted above, he is ranked #91 in DRPM out of all PFs. That's bottom 5.

His film looks terrible. His DRPM looks terrible. All his stats look terrible. And just to get another perspective, here's two write ups from a Sixers fan while he was there. (2 different seasons)

https://thesixersense.com/2018/03/20/philadelphia-76ers-how-much-issue-dario-saric-defense/

https://thesixersense.com/2018/11/0...ario-saric-sustain-newfound-shooting-success/

 

[1Sun]

He's not middle of the road. He's easily bottom quarter for PFs on D.

When I watch him on film he seriously lacks the lateral movement to guard anything on the perimeter. He's not really much of a presence in the post and can't block shots and doesn't get steals (#28 in steals last year and dead last in blocked shots for PF). He's just an ok rebounder (#22 among PFs). There isn't anything I see on film that would put him out of the bottom quarter of PFs on D in the league. His stats support that. He's really bad.

As Covert Rain posted above, he is ranked #91 in DRPM out of all PFs. That's bottom 5.

His film looks terrible. His DRPM looks terrible. All his stats look terrible. And just to get another perspective, here's two write ups from a Sixers fan while he was there. (2 different seasons)

https://thesixersense.com/2018/03/20/philadelphia-76ers-how-much-issue-dario-saric-defense/

https://thesixersense.com/2018/11/0...ario-saric-sustain-newfound-shooting-success/

Glad someone else on this board has actually been paying attention.

I fully expect the same results from Saric this season that we got from Ryan Anderson last season.