How 2013 Trade Featuring Tobias Harris & JJ Redick Impacted Both Careers

Tobias Harris, JJ Redick

Getty Philadelphia 76ers teammates Tobias Harris and JJ Redick

It’s been a long and interesting path for both Tobias Harris and JJ Redick to wind up on the Philadelphia 76ers together. While Redick has been with the team for two seasons now, Harris was acquired via trade during the 2018-19 season. But years ago, these two starters for the Sixers were actually involved in a trade which led to them swapping teams.

Back in February of 2013, the Orlando Magic opted to trade a fan-favorite player in Redick and two others to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a group of three players, one of which was Harris. As ESPN detailed, the deal included Redick and Harris along with a list of names who didn’t play huge roles, with the exception of possibly Ish Smith.

The Magic traded veteran shooting guard and fan favorite J.J. Redick, along with center Gustavo Ayon and reserve point guard Ish Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for guards Doron Lamb and Beno Udrih, as well as forward Tobias Harris.

At the time of this trade, Redick was averaging career highs in points per game (15.1) as well as field goal percentage (45.0) with the Magic. How things played out was somewhat amazing to look back at, but it worked out for both players when all was said and done.


Tobias Harris Breaks out With Magic

Prior to this deal, Harris had played just 70 games over the span of less than two seasons with the Bucks. In year one, he averaged 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in just 11.4 minutes per game and 4.9 points with 2.0 rebounds over 11.6 minutes during the 28 games of 2012-13. But in the final 27 games of that season in Orlando, Harris began to hit his stride.

The Magic played their new forward 36.1 minutes per game, and he racked up averages of 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field. Harris played just over two years beyond this with Orlando before landing with the Detroit Pistons midway through the 2015-16 season.


JJ Redick’s Career After Trade

Although Redick played only 28 games for the Bucks after the trade and then moved on to join the Los Angeles Clippers, he proceeded to have a stretch of career years with them. The talented scorer spent four years with the Clippers averaging between 15.0 and 16.4 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent or better in each season.

Since joining the Sixers prior to the 2017-18 season, Redick has proceeded to increase his averages even more. After scoring 17.1 points per game last year, he’s tallied a mark of 18.1 points through the first 58 games of the 2018-19 season.

Both Harris and Redick are set to become free agents after the year, and it’s expected at least one if not both could be back with the Sixers. Much of that decision could come down to how the free agency market shakes out.

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