The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry appeared on ‘The Bulls Talk Podcast’ on June 6 and the NBA writer said the Chicago Bulls should trade for Philadelphia 76ers forward Furkan Korkmaz.
“The guy’s just wasting away on the bench,” Mayberry said. “He’s 25 years old, he only makes about $5 million next year. I feel like that’s just an easy piece to go get. And he kills the Bulls, so maybe coming to the United Center will make him feel right at home.”
Korkmaz requested a trade from the Sixers this season. However, he wasn’t moved at the trade deadline. The 25-year-old appeared in 37 games in 2022-23 and averaged 3.8 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 43.2% from the field, 39.1% from beyond the arc and 72.2% from the free-throw line.
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The Sixers lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games despite having a 3-2 lead. Korkmaz only played eight minutes in the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Bulls didn’t make the 2023 playoffs after making the 2022 postseason. They lost the 8-9 play-in game to the Miami Heat in South Beach. Chicago needs more shooters around All-Stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, so adding Korkmaz makes sense. He’s a career 35.6% shooter from 3-point land.
“That to me is uh the type of player that I think the Bulls should be targeting,” Mayberry said. “I am dying to see what happens with him in Philly because he is a real talent in terms of shooting the ball and he could really help the Bulls.”
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Korkmaz has career averages of 7.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists. In 11 career games against the Bulls, he’s averaging 11.6 points while shooting 56.3% overall and 47.9% from 3. Maybe a change of scenery would do wonders for Korkmaz’s career.
There have been rumors that the Bulls may end The Big 3 of DeRozan, LaVine and Vucevic. If that happens, it would make no sense for Chicago to trade for Korkmaz.
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