This offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers have explored multiple avenues to re-shape the roster and free up cap space. The biggest being All-Star guard James Harden taking a $15 million pay cut so Daryl Morey could execute moves like the signings of P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. Another route the front office has tried is moving on from a key starter.
While Tobias Harris has become a foundational piece to the Sixers over the years, he is also the team’s highest-paid player. At $37 million, the team is heavily invested in a player that is a non-All-Star. This past season, Harris posted averages of 17.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG.
Dating back to the NBA Draft, reports have surfaced of the Sixers shopping the veteran forward. However, nothing has come about of a team willing to take on Harris and his sizable contract. Recently, an Eastern Conference executive spoke to Heavy’s Sean Deveney about the current outlook of a potential Harris trade.
“They have exhausted every avenue on a Tobias deal,” the exec told Deveney. “They overpaid him and no one wants that contract. That’s just the situation they’re in. They’ve been saying that Tobias Harris is not getting traded, but the reality is, he is not getting traded because they could not find a deal for him, not because they stopped trying.”
On top of being signed next season, Harris is due $39.2 million in 2023-24.
Tobias Harris is The NBA’s Ironman
One thing that Tobias Harris brings to the floor is availability. In today’s era where load management has become a common practice, he prides himself on being out there for his team every night. A stat recently popped up that only Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has appeared in more games than Harris over the past four years and no player has logged more minutes.
Over the last four seasons, only one NBA player has started more games than Tobias Harris. And NO ONE has played more minutes.
Remarkably durable and productive player.
Not a star. But also not easy to replace.
Last season, Harris played in 73 of a possible 82 games for the Sixers. His 34.8 minutes per game also tied a career-high for a full season.
Sixers Could be Investigated for P.J. Tucker Signing
When it came out that James Harden was declining his player option to take a pay cut for the Sixers, the reception around the league varied. ESPN’s Bobby Marks feels the team should be investigated for tampering.
An investigation could be coming the Sixers’ way, but not involving Harden. NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported that the team could be facing a tampering case from the league regarding their signing of P.J. Tucker.
I’m told that Philadelphia’s signing of P.J. Tucker is also likely to be placed under the investigation microscope by the league office
Tucker had a player option for this upcoming season with the Miami Heat but decided to decline and test the free agent market. Following this news, the Sixers were heavily linked to the veteran forward and instantly became the frontrunner to acquire him. In the end, Tucker signed with Philly on a multi-year deal.
The tampering suit will likely be centered around Tucker’s numerous connections to people within the Sixers. Daryl Morey got him to Houston back in 2017, where he was a teammate of James Harden for multiple years.
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Eastern Conference Executive Weighs in on Future of Sixers Starter