NEW YORK– Dario Saric made himself available for interviews at the NBA’s pre-draft media availability Wednesday. .
But there is no chance the 6-10, 20-year old Croatian forward will play in the league next year. Saric, a potential lottery pick, confirmed he has signed a contract to play with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes and any NBA team who selects him will have to wait at least two years, even if he is selected in the draft.
Saric also put his name in the NBA draft last year, then withdrew, leading to some confusion about whether he really wanted to play over here. but Saric said he just wasn’t ready to make the qunatum leap from Europe to the league.
“I think it’s a step by step process,” he said. “I think by 22, I will be more ready to be in the first five for an NBA team. I think i’m ready for the NBA right now, but I need more experience and to grow my skills and my body. I expect it there’s a good chance I longest I will stay in Europe is two seasons. But if I feel I’m ready after one year, why not?”
Saric is a talent, who has a dynamic skill set comparable to 6-11 Hedu Turkgolu of Turkey. He is considered the latest in a long line of great Croatian players, like Drazen Petrovic and Tony Kukoc. Saric is one of the two best true international players available in the draft, along with guard Dante Exum of Australia, who should go in the Top 5 picks. Saric averaged 16.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists for Cibona Zageb and was voted MVP of the Adriatic League after leading his club team to the championship.
Saric was a prodgy who started to play serious minutes in the professional league when he was just 17. He led Croatia to a back to back gold medal finishes in the U16 and U18 Fiba European championships, leading his team in pretty much every statistical category. Last summer, he was the leading scorer for Croatia’s U19 team that finished fourth in the Worlds at Prague and was an all tournament selection before moving up to the Senior team, where he was the fourth leading scorer for his country as it qualified for the World Cup in Spain.
Having said all that, his father reportedly wanted him to remain overseas to continue his development so he could make a smooth transition and become an immediate starter with an NBA franchise.
According to highly reliable Draft Express, Saric is a classic point forward who has exceptional decision making skills in the open floor, a trait he developed at an early age when he was a point guard, and has the ability to push the ball up or post up effectively. He projects as a tretch four, but he does not have the quickness to beat opposing small forwards off the bounce and stay in front of them defensively and lacks the strength to battle NBA power forwards on the block. Saric would be a perfect fit for a team like the San Antonio Spurs, who just won the NBA championship with an eight rotation that included eight internationals. But it is hard to know whether he will slide all the way to 30, even with this new update. “I stayed in the draft this year because think I can be a lottery pick,” he said. “I might slip if I waited because the Euroleague isn’t considered as good as the NBA.”
Having said all that, his father reportedly wanted him to remain overseas to continue his development so he could make a smooth transition and become an immediate starter with an NBA franchise. Saric said he chose Efes over multiple European offers because he felt that club played a style that was most similar to an NBA team.
There is also this to consider: NBA rules stipulate that first-round picks who have not signed after three years of being selected no longer have to bargain according to the rookie scale, so if he waits that long, Saric could be in for a much bigger payday. The deal with Efes includes a player option for the third season, but Saric says there is no way he will stay a third year.
“I don’t think about money right now,” he said. “Maybe when I am 30.”
