The Last Dance: Toni Kukoc still reminds us of Dario Saric

Comparison

The 2014 NBA Draft was one to remember. Not only for its inordinate talent pool and potential, but the number of trades that were made in the days before, during and after. Among those being a surprising draft-day deal between the Sixers and Orlando Magic — swapping Elfrid Payton for Saric, Orlando’s 2017 top-11 protected first-round pick and 2015 second-round pick.

The Process was always a risky and precarious formula, but this particular draft corroborated that. Then-general manager Sam Hinkie selected a pair of prospects who ultimately wound up making their NBA debuts two years later. Most notably, Embiid — a breakout freshman big man from Kansas who had already missed significant time at the end of his college season — was hampered with an injury to his foot, and Saric was stashed away for the future.

Despite all of the flak that essentially led to Hinkie being run out of town in 2016, he was right. Embiid has evolved into a three-time All-Star, while Saric fit the mold of the Sixers’ pace-and-space offense. But it was initially the similarities to Kukoc that stood out in Saric’s scouting profile that made him all the more of an intriguing asset, especially enough to make Hinkie roll the dice.

While Kukoc was selected by Krause and the Bulls in the second round of the 1990 draft and played three subsequent years in Europe, he was always highly valued in the front office, even with Jordan and Pippen making history on the court.

Above all, aside from being 6’10” and a scrawny jump-shooter, Saric mirrored Kukoc’s all-around style. His versatility, creativity as a ball-handler and heady passing that led to EuroLeague accomplishments. Saric himself even once called the comparison “stupid,” because of Kukoc’s Jordan-esque popularity in their native country, but as the anticipation of his NBA arrival heightened, the bigger the hype became for Saric.