Philadelphia 76ers: Should the Sixers be buyers in the Magic’s fire sale?

With a fire sale imminent in Orlando, could the Philadelphia 76ers acquire one of Dario Saric’s former oversees teammates?

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic had very similar 2016-2017 seasons.

Both teams were deep in the thralls of a lengthy rebuild and among the worst teams in the entire league, and after some unlucky draws at the NBA Draft Lottery, the two teams received the fifth and sixth pick respectively in the 2017 NBA Draft.

But oh how things have changed.

We all know the story of how the 76ers swapped picks with the Sacramento Kings, and then flipped said pick, as well as a highly sought after future first-round pick, to draft Markelle Fultz.  Though Fultz has yet to become a factor with the team, the sudden emergence of Ben Simmons as a legitimate All-Star caliber point guard has helped to turn the 76ers into one of the leagues most promising young teams. Currently the owners of a 20-20 record, the 76ers are on pace to make a serious run at the playoffs for the first time in the Brett Brown era, and could very well give fans a glimpse of a potential dynasty in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Magic, on the other hand, have yet to find that same success.

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Jonathan Isaac, the Magic’s first-round pick from Florida State, has only appeared in three games for the team since November 11th, 2017 when he tweaked his ankle in a 107-125 loss to the Denver Nuggets. While the 6-foot-10 forward has shown promise when he’s been able to play, as highlighted by his 15 points in 17 minutes debut against the Memphis Grizzlies, his absence has been just another bump in an incredibly disappointing season in the Magic Kingdom, and on pace to finish the 2017-2018 season with even fewer wins than the season prior.

And the Magic’s issues aren’t just on the court.

Issac, a young man of faith, recently invited his entire team to watch him deliver his first sermon at the JUMP Ministries Global Church in Orlando, not a single player showed up, and the 20-year olds unfortunate situation became a national punchline highlighting just how dysfunctional the entire Magic organization has become, and just how little comradery is felt among it’s players.

So when news broke that the Magic are actively shopping virtually their entire roster, sans Issac and Aaron Gordon, it wasn’t particularly surprising for many NBA observers. But is there anyone on the Magic’s roster that would be of any particular interest to the 76ers?

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Mario Hezonja to the Philadelphia 76ers?

While many will look to a player like Evan Fournier, think a more advanced Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with a smooth jumper, as the gem of the Magic’s yard sale, one player who gets often overlooked, but could be an ideal reclamation project for a team with ties to Croatia may be the fifth overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, Mario Hezonja.

Hezonja, a 22-year old wing shooter from Dubrovnik, Croatia has long been considered a bust for the Magic after two and a half disappointing seasons with the Magic, and when you look at his stats it’s hard not to argue with the designation.

After receiving comparisons to Vince Carter, and being dubbed “the cockiest NBA Draft prospect in years” by SB Nation during the pre-draft process, Hezonja has only averaged 5.8 points in 16.6 minutes per game on a depleted Magic team desperate for outside scorers not named Fournier or Terrance Ross. While he has looked marginally better in 2017-2018 than he did in his first two seasons in Orlando, Hezonja still hasn’t found a consistent outside shot as a pro, averaging only 33 percent from three, and is known to play average defense at best, currently ranked the number 77th best defensive shooting guard by ESPN’s Real Plus Minus.

So why, you may ask, would the 76ers want to give up any sort of compensation, even a far-off future second-round pick, for a player who’s largely failed to live up to his own lofty expectations?

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While a change of scenery could do the trick to getting Hezonja back on track, a reunion with fellow Croatian compatriot Dario Saric surely wouldn’t hurt either.

While the pair never played professionally together overseas, Saric and Hezonja were both members of Nike International Junior Tournament All-Tournament team and played against each other with a good bit of regularity on their respective Euro Clubs. Even though the pair aren’t known to be best friends, adding a player from the same country, with whom Saric can lean on, and relate to could be incredibly valuable to the team down the stretch. Plus, how great would it be, from a marketing standpoint alone, to bring together the Croatian Super Smash Bros, Dario, and Mario, in South Philly?

Adding Hezonja to the team would also give Coach Brown, one of the league’s best teachers, an immensely talented, yet incredibly raw 22-year old block of clay to mold into a potential starting caliber shooting guard. While he isn’t as far along as in his player development as, say, Justin Anderson, Hezonja likely as the highest ceiling than any of the team’s wing players, and could award Brown yet another tall, hyper-athletic scorer to give opposing head coaches matchup nightmares.

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If the Magic are serious about moving on from their current stable of talent and going into a full-on rebuild moving forward, the 76ers could do a whole lot worse in filling their vacant 15th roster spot than Mario Hezonja. While he’s still a work in process, the ability to add a lottery-caliber talent, especially one who’s been linked to the team before, for pennies on the dollar may be too good to pass up. While the Magic did fail to pick up Hezonja’s fourth-year option, and the 76ers could, in theory, pursue the 6-8 combo wing in free agency when the season ends, having an extra four months to evaluate his potential for the menial price of a far-off future second-round pick may be worth the price of admission.