Getty Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers
Daryl Morey will be spending this offseason looking at the current Philadelphia 76ers roster, wondering how he’s going to improve their fortunes with such limited cap space.
No matter how hard he tries, or how many scenarios he runs through, there’s always going to be an elephant in the room and that’s Tobias Harris and his incredibly large salary. Sure, the Sixers have multiple young players they can dangle in a trade, and that could land them a second or third-tier star, but if Morey is serious about building a juggernaut around Joel Embiid and James Harden, moving Harris is the logical first step.
According to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, Harris’ exuberant contract, and the limitations it puts on the Sixers’ cap flexibility are widely known around the league, and the team may be forced into paying a premium to move off of his deal during the summer.
Sixers: Add shooting, get better before the playoffs and get off Tobias Harris’ contract. They also add picks to flip in a bigger deal this summer.
Kings: Tired of being the laughingstock of the league, they make acquire two former All-Stars.
Pacers: Believe in Fox, keep Turner
“Harris was already going to be difficult to trade because of his production-to-salary ratio. Potential partners in the exchange will now try to squeeze even more out of Philadelphia, knowing a Harris move is the only way for the Sixers to carve out meaningful cap space.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Philadelphia should be extremely motivated to improve its roster, and teams with cap space should be amenable to taking on Harris’ salary with heaps of sweeteners attached,” Hughes wrote in his recent article.
Let’s be fair, Harris isn’t a bad player by any means, but he’s also not a number one option on a contending team, although he is being paid like one. So, if the Sixers want to give themselves some wiggle room to maneuver both now and down the line, finding a suitor for Harris should be their top priority heading into the free agency period.
Keeping Embiid Happy
Like it or not, every year the Sixers don’t make the playoffs is another year of Joel Embiid’s prime that’s been wasted. The transcendent big man has dealt with back issues throughout his time in the NBA, and is unlikely to be a dominant force deep into his thirties like a lot of stars are doing these days.
So, with every missed opportunity, Embiid gets another year older, and another year closer to his inevitable decline. Ok, there’s still plenty of time for Philadelphia to get things right before Embiid’s time atop of the mountain is over, but will he want to wait around for that outcome? Or will he start casting flirtatious glances at other franchises that project to take him to the promised land at a faster pace?
In all seriousness, Embiid should have requested a trade yesterday.
The clock is ticking for the Sixers, and eventually, it’s going to hit zero, at which point the team’s franchise cornerstone will be left with no option but to look elsewhere for a championship – unless Morey and the rest of the front office fix the issues residing on the roster, and that starts with resetting the cap sheets, or at least, bringing them down to manageable levels.
Harden Isn’t What We Once Knew
Superstar scorer James Harden is no more, or at least, not at a consistent level anyway. Instead, Philadelphia has one of the best floor generals in the NBA, capable of dishing out ten or more dimes on any given night, while also providing between 15 and 20 points on fairly efficient shooting.
After joining the Sixers at the trade deadline, Harden averaged 20.8 points, 10.4 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, and then went on to average 18.6 points, 8.6 assists, and 5.7 rebounds throughout the playoffs. Those are elite numbers, showing an impact across the floor.
“I’m not convinced that either [Kyrie Irving or James Harden] are going to sign long-term contracts and maybe not both. They both might up playing on 1-year deals”
— Brian Windhorst
But, without a second scorer, Harden and Embiid might not be enough to challenge for an NBA championship, not while the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks continue to improve their dynamic rosters with a plethora of multi-skilled players across each position.
Somehow, Morey’s job got bigger once he acquired Harden, and now he needs to get the wheels moving forwards after months of the breaks being slammed on.