September 29, 2016
When Dario Saric’s plane landed at Philadelphia International Airport on July 14th, it was more than a metaphor for Sam Hinkie’s long-term vision starting to take shape. It was madness.
The goateed 22-year-old Croatian was met by a horde of cameras the instant he stepped on American soil. Saric’s flight had been tracked all the way from Frankfurt. His livestreamed arrival spread like wildfire via social media and was watched by hordes of Sixers fans:
A little disconcerting? Maybe, but Saric has enjoyed his short time in Philly thus far.
“Everything surprised me,” Saric said at Sixers Media Day. “People waiting there [at the airport] surprised me, the organization, especially this [practice] facility, the people. Everything is better than what I expected.”
Saric’s English has a ways to go, but he can get his point across well enough. For example, the 6’10” forward has made perfectly clear in initial interviews that whenever he shares the floor with Ben Simmons, the ball is going to be in the top overall pick’s hands.
On multiple occasions, Saric has gone out of his way to point out this is Simmons’ show. At a training camp that was kicked off by playing time complaints, this is probably more what the Sixers had in mind.
“I can [make plays], but I think because of Ben, a guy who can really pass, he can make me, Joel [Embiid], or other players better,” Saric said.
Let the record show that Saric’s ball skills are nothing to sneeze at. Before he hit a growth spurt around the age of 14, Saric played point guard growing up. His favorite floor general was Magic Johnson. When he eventually moved to the frontcourt because of his height, Saric didn’t lose his playmaking touch:
After watching Saric go through three official practices, Brett Brown has noticed the 6’10” forward’s comments about Simmons manifest on the court. Basically, Saric is trying to be as accommodating as possible.
How can I help get JoJo the ball on the block?
How can I help get Ben the ball in space?
“I think that for everybody, they’re just trying to figure out who their new neighbors are, who their new family is, and there’s a lot of that going on right now in a very respectful, professional way,” Brown said. “And I think Dario to me is maybe the most noticeable.”
This is the right attitude in the long run. With a nod to the team’s famous co-owner, you don’t want a Bel-Air Academy situation where Saric is wrestling the ball away from Simmons during critical possessions. But from listening to the Brown and observing the tail end of practices, the Sixers haven’t been sharp early on at least partially because players like Saric are still trying to figure out their roles.
“He’s trying to please, he’s trying fit in, he’s trying to figure stuff out,” Brown said.
Trust the process, right?
For Saric, his on-court relationship with Simmons is arguably the most important one on the team. His skill set meshes well with Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel, and at least offensively, the stretch four fits perfectly with Jahlil Okafor’s low-post game.
But Simmons? There are some differences in their games — Simmons is a better athlete, Saric has a better, more repeatable shooting stroke — but they’re ultimately similar players, skilled four men. Brown calls them “6-10 do-alls,” and during Wednesday’s practice, he had them playing next to each other in a huge lineup that also included Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and Embiid.
“Now is the time to do that with the endgame being whenever that type of thing happens, you have something quite special when they’re paired.”
The results in that smallest of small samples weren’t great. As Brown explained, the advantage of playing Saric and Simmons at the same time is the combination of size and skill level. If the combination ultimately works out, the Sixers are one step closer to positionless basketball.
But the challenge of playing two rookies together and forcing at least one of them to guard out of position is real. Wednesday’s practice won’t be the end of the growing pains for the Simmons-Saric pairing, but Brown believes the potential payoff is too great not to explore it.
“It comes down to some type of comfort level that they’re going to have to navigate and figure out each other a little more,” Brown said. “Now is the time to do that with the endgame being whenever that type of thing happens, you have something quite special when they’re paired.”
In his years of professional experience, Saric said he hasn’t played with someone with the combination of size and speed Simmons possesses. For his part, Simmons is aware that he’ll also need to become a better player off the ball with a passer like Saric in the fold.
“It’s different receiving the pass than giving [the ball] out, so I just got to be prepared to get open and make cuts,” Simmons said.
With their collective basketball IQ, the Sixers hope Saric and Simmons form a special bond on the court one day. If they ultimately can, it’s just going to take a little while, that’s all.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
