Getty Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers
With Tobias Harris entering the last year of a five-year, $180 million contract he signed back in 2019, many have wondered if he may have played his last game with the Philadelphia 76ers. Harris is on an expiring deal, which could be used to acquire another star or get more depth. Alas, it appears the Sixers have every intention of keeping him.
While reporting that the Sixers and Phoenix Suns have stopped discussing a trade involving Harris, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Sixers have every intention of keeping him going forward.
Pompey gave the full scoop on what would have had to happen to make a deal go down between the Sixers and Suns while including what the Sixers plan to do with Harris.
“Phoenix would have had to move (Deandre) Ayton as part of the Harris deal. But the Sixers have no interest in the 7-foot, 250-pounder or any players the Suns would make available.
“The Sixers were also unwilling to get a third team involved to facilitate the deal. The team has been adamant that it doesn’t intend to trade Harris at this time.”
With the Sixers potentially re-signing James Harden this offseason, it sounds like their plans are to run it back with last year’s squad, more or less. Whether or not they keep it intact throughout the whole season could be a different story.
How Tobias Harris & James Harden’s Futures Are Linked
Matt Moore of Action Network revealed that Harden’s next deal with the Sixers – should he re-sign – depends on if they trade Harris.
“The way for the Sixers to make room to re-sign James Harden to whatever deal he’s amenable to is to trade Harris,” Moore wrote.
Moore added who is considered to be Harris’ next team.
“The Kings have long been thought to be the most likely landing spot for Harris, not only because of the pre-existing relationship between Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and Kings GM Monte McNair but also with the Kings looking for a small forward alternative to Harrison Barnes.”
If the Sixers plan to keep Harris on top of re-signing Harden, perhaps the Sixers believe that Harden can be attainable at the right price.
Tobias Harris’ Dad Calls Out Sixers
When asked if the Sixers have utilized Harris properly, Harris’ father-agent, Torrel Harris, explained on the “Business of Sports” podcast why he doesn’t think so.
“Personally, I don’t think so. The reason I say that, well, Tobias is an assassin scorer. I mean, they can’t stop him. Nobody in the league can stop him. So he’s proven that over his career, even when he was with the Clippers, he was an assassin scorer,” Harris said.
Torrel then added why it’s frustrating to watch Harris play in the Sixers’ offense, knowing how good he believes his son is.
“They didn’t utilize him. He was not a priority in their offense, and that’s kind of frustrating because if you’re a kick-butt player…you don’t want to be in the corner twiddling your thumb.”
Harris has never quite found a place on the Sixers while playing under Brett Brown and Doc Rivers. Things may change with new head coach Nick Nurse.
