Sixers’ $180 Million Star Deemed ‘Toughest’ to Trade This Offseason

Getty Tobias Harris looks like the odd man out for the Philadelphia 76ers after the James Harden trade.

The Philadelphia 76ers have some decisions to make this offseason regarding their roster, and it might end up costing them one of their high-priced stars.

James Harden and Joel Embiid don’t appear to be going anywhere, so that means some of the other pieces will need to be moved around if the Sixers want to make roster upgrades. Tobias Harris has been floated as an option thanks to his nearly $40 million cap hit for this upcoming season and the next.

He’s a productive player and provides a lot of value for the Sixers, but with him essentially becoming a fourth option in Philly, it makes sense to look for alternatives for him.

Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes doesn’t think it’ll be that simple. On June 8, he released a piece going over five of the toughest players to trade this offseason, and Harris found himself on the list.

Can Harris Be Moved?

GettySixers forward Tobias Harris.

There’s no doubt that a lot of teams around the league would love to have Harris on their team, but his contract will make it a difficult pill to swallow.

“Cost is the main issue,” Hughes wrote. “Harris signed a five-year, $180 million extension with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 offseason and is still owed $37.6 million in 2022-23 and $39.2 million the following season, all fully guaranteed.”

He’s a good player no matter how you slice it, but players who make this type of money are usually superstar franchise-changing players, and Harris is not that type of player. Hughes believes that if the Sixers do want to trade him, they’d have to attach a more lucrative piece with him. If it comes down to including Tyrese Maxey, it’s tough to imagine the Sixers moving on from him.

“The Philadelphia 76ers won’t be able to trade him without attaching a young talent like Tyrese Maxey or draft considerations,” he wrote. “Even then, they’ll still need to find a team with ample cap space to absorb Harris’ hefty deal or, perhaps less palatably, take back someone else’s unwanted overpay.”

Are the Sixers Stuck?

GettyTobias Harris could be shipped out of town.

Since the Sixers fought to hang onto Maxey and Thybulle in a Ben Simmons trade, it’s unlikely they’d let their point guard go in a trade.

Thybulle is a player that seems more available after the recent playoff run where he was benched after being ruled ineligible for road games against the Raptors. He was once considered to be untouchable, but now it seems like he could find a new home for the right price.

At the moment it does seem unclear what the offseason plans are. The best time to move Harris would be in the offseason with every team having the most cap space they are going to have all year thanks to free agency. However, it’s tough to envision a team stepping up and grabbing him with that price tag attached.

We’ll have to wait until the offseason officially kicks off until we find out how moveable Harris really is. If the Sixers want to capitalize on their championship window, they’ll need to figure something out.

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