Philadelphia 76ers: Dario Saric could flourish in Phoenix
While Dario Saric probably isn’t jazzed to become a member of the Phoenix Suns, the ex-Philadelphia 76ers forward is actually a really good fit with the team.
After being a pillar of consistency for the Philadelphia 76ers over his first 172 games in the NBA, Dario Saric‘s 2019 has been anything but.
Initially shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves as a glorified throw-in alongside Robert Covington in the Jimmy Butler trade, Saric looked like an interesting fit in Tom Thibodeau‘s hard-nosed scheme, where his playmaking abilities could finally be valued as a full-on point forward.
That lasted all of about 11 games, as Thibs was fired on January 6th and replaced with Ryan Saunders.
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Mostly reserved to a, well reserve role under Coach Thibodeau, Saunders allowed Saric a little more wiggle room on a team with virtually no playoff aspirations – presumably to see if he was a long-term fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns moving forward.
If draft night is of any indication, the answer to that question is a resounding no, as ‘The Homie’ was traded alongside the 11th overall pick to the Phoenix Suns for the pick that eventually became Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver.
While this may feel like a crushing blow for Saric, as he went from a solid sports city where everyone loved him (as still does) in Philly, to basketball Siberia in Minnesota, to arguably the worst run (and worst in general) team in the league in the Suns, there’s actually a lot to like about his fit in Phoenix.
Yes, seriously.
Last season, the Phoenix Suns really didn’t have a true power forward on their roster, often times cycling through various combinations of (recently traded) T.J. Warren, Mikal Bridges, Josh Jackson, and eventually Kelly Oubre Jr. to fill their two starting forward spots.
In Saric, the Suns now have a legitimately talented power forward-sized power forward – one who has experience playing alongside a star center and also has experience playing the three from his time with the 76ers.
Furthermore, while the Suns did invest the 24th overall pick (acquired from Philly via Boston) on Virginia combo guard Ty Jerome and still have Tyler Johnson under contract after he picked up his almost $20 million player option (for now), Saric could finally have a chance to optimize his playmaking abilities like a 2013-14 Kevin Love as the team’s secondary ball handler.
Even with the draft day additions of ex-Boston center Aron Baynes and super over-drafted UNC combo forward Cameron Johnson, Saric looks like a lock to be the Suns starting power forward going into the 2019-20 season, and could finally start more than half of his team’s games for the first time since his sophomore season in 2017-18.
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Will he win a lot of games next season? Nope, not a chance, but while the Phoenix Suns have almost universally been declared the big losers of the draft (though Elton Brand gave them a run for his money), Dario Saric has a chance to put up career numbers on an awful team right before he hits (restricted) free agency. Talk about making the most out of a horrible situation.