July 14, 2016
Miguel Angel Morenatti/AP
Croatia's Dario Saric celebrates after scoring against Argentina during a Basketball World Cup match in 2014. It now looks like he'll finally be joining the Sixers.
It's all happening.
Dario Saric, fresh off being named MVP of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Turin, Italy, has arrived in Philadelphia to undergo a physical and ultimately sign a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Croatian forward, who was taken with the 12th-overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was greeted by fans and media after landing at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday afternoon. CrossingBroad's Jim Adair was on hand to provide live video of Saric's arrival, and by the time he finally emerged from U.S. Customs, there were well over 1,000 people watching the stream.
If you listen carefully, you can hear a fan tell Saric that if he plays hard, the city will love him.
But, by far, the best part of the video is this video is Saric's answer as to why he's willing to pay $450,000 of the $1.1 million buyout of his contract at Anadolu Efes.
"Because, for me, the most important thing is [my] word," the 22-year-old told reporters. "I said that after two years, after my Euroleague career, I would come here. And that was most important."
Once the Sixers sign the 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward -- that's expected to happen over the weekend, possibly as early as Friday -- he'll likely return to playing with the Croatian team he helped lead to an Olympic berth last week.
This Sixers team just keeps getting more interesting...
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