After losing J.J Redick to the Pelicans, the Sixers fired back promptly. The latest free agency ‘Woj bomb’ cites that the team have given Tobias Harris a five-year deal worth $180M.
At 26-years old, the NBA’s most impactful journeyman will finally find a long-term home. After wearing five different home jersey’s in his eight-year career, Harris may have made his grandest case for a bigger deal while wearing the fifth…and the Sixers have rewarded him for doing so.
Getting Tobias Harris cost the Sixers a lot to begin with and a failure to keep him around would have seen this move backfire explosively. They gave up Landry Shamet, a pair of 1st round picks and 2 second round picks along with Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala. But they got their money’s worth.
Averaging 20 points per contest and shooting 48.7/39.7/86.6, Harris was yet another strong addition from the Sixers front office. The 6’9 combo forward helped provide the spacing that the team needed. A threat to drill long-range shots if given space, Harris has the requisite awareness to really play to the strengths of a starting five that will be inexperienced playing together yet again, making this move a ‘no-brainer’.
There is one issue that the team has seemingly invested to overcome, is the fact that Harris had the lowest usage rating during the regular season and that shrank even further during the playoffs. With this kind of money and longevity, the Sixers have to make him a focal point of their starting five.
Retaining Harris on a deal this exstensive allows the team to add a third building block to their roster, alongside Simmons and Embiid. His spot-up shooting and ability to create off the dribble fits well next to the two young stars, but he proved he was capable of a lot more in his short time with the team.
The Sixers, who are also reportedly looking to extend Ben Simmons this offseason, now have a core to build around. ‘Inexperience’ will be a thing of the past after next season, with the lineup finally able to gel together…and that’s the most important thing in a world of stars and super-teams.
