Getty Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers could use more depth, and the best way for them to acquire depth would be to trade Tobias Harris and his $39.3 million expiring contract. Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire proposed the following trade with the Detroit Pistons that would give the Sixers’ said depth in exchange for Harris.
Sixers get: Killian Hayes, Alec Burks, and Marvin Bagley III
Pistons get: Tobias Harris
Carlin cited Burks’ familiarity with the team, having played for them during the latter half of the 2019-20 season.
“The Sixers acquired Burks at the deadline in 2020, and he provided some good play off the bench averaging 12.2 points and shooting 41.6% from deep. In 51 games for the Pistons, he averaged 12.8 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 41.4% from deep in the 2022-23 season. He is a guy Philadelphia could use to add more pop to that unit.”
Carlin added what Bagley could do for the Sixers and what the Sixers could do for Hayes.
“Bagley III is oft-injured, but standing at 6-foot-11, he would bring size and athleticism to the bench unit. He averaged 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds while bringing a ton of energy to the second unit for the Pistons in the 2022-23 season. As for Hayes, he could use a fresh start. He did average 10.3 points and 6.2 assists while starting 56 games in place of the injured Cunningham, but it’s obvious what the pecking order is in Detroit, and the former lottery pick could use a fresh scene. The Sixers offer that for him.”
Burks was the No. 12 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Bagley was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, and Hayes was the No. 7 pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
Tobias Harris’ Father-Agent Calls Out Sixers
Harris’ father-agent Torrel Harris explained on the “Business of Sports” podcast why he doesn’t believe Harris has been properly utilized by the Sixers when asked about it.
“Personally, I don’t think so. The reason I say that, well, Tobias is an assassin scorer. I mean, they can’t stop him. Nobody in the league can stop him. So he’s proven that over his career, even when he was with the Clippers, he was an assassin scorer,” Harris said.
Harris added that the Sixers continue to put him in a role that doesn’t suit him, which is frustrating to him because he believes Tobias is capable of much more.
“They didn’t utilize him. He was not a priority in their offense, and that’s kind of frustrating because if you’re a kick-butt player…you don’t want to be in the corner twiddling your thumb.”
Sixers Plan to Keep Tobias Harris
After revealing that the Sixers’ trade discussions with the Phoenix Suns with Harris fell through, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on June 25 that “the team has been adamant that it doesn’t intend to trade Harris at this time.”
Between their intention to both keep Harris for next season as well as re-sign James Harden, the Sixers are indicating that their plans are to run back basically the same squad as last year.
While one may argue that running it back with the same team after what’s happened since acquiring Harden may not be the best idea, this time, the Sixers have Nick Nurse calling the shots this coming season, which could change the game knowing his resume as a title-winning coach and Coach of the Year recipient.