The Case for Dario Saric

What is Dario Saric’s upside?

With fulfilled potential and a refined jumpshot, he would be a point forward at the NBA level.  Hedo Turkoglu was known as a shooter first before developing passing and ball-handling skills.  Saric is the opposite.  He has the ball-handling and passing in spades, but he’s an average shooter.  At his best, he would resemble Turkoglu, the Orlando Magic version.  Those who may not remember that version, need to remember that Turkoglu was the point guard for the Orlando Magic, running the pick and roll, while Nelson was setting up in the corner.  When it came to clutch situations, it was Turkoglu nailing shots from deep.  He showed those abilities during the Final Four of the Adriatic League, where he was simply unstoppable.

Defensively there are concerns.  He doesn’t have the lateral quickness to keep up with athletic small forwards.  He doesn’t have the strength to hold his position against post players at the power forward slot.  He exerts great energy and does have defensive IQ, but the average length and footspeed hold him back from being an effective individual defender.  Saric can make up for that by adding strength to his 6’10” frame, and potentially be a dynamic stretch-four down the line.