Though the Philadelphia 76ers will likely go star chasing during the 2024 NBA Offseason, that may come at the cost of losing one of their longest-tenured players. Tobias Harris, who has been with the team since 2019, may have a new home this coming offseason.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported that Harris’ time with Philadelphia will likely end after the 2023-24 season. More than that, Harris has been linked to one of his former teams.
“Tobias Harris may be as good as gone,” Pompey wrote in an April 19 story. “The power forward’s tenure with the 76ers is expected to end once their postseason run concludes. Several NBA executives believe there’s a chance he’ll land with the Detroit Pistons in free agency. But there are several other teams interested in the 13th-year veteran with career averages of 16.3 points and 6.2 rebounds.”
Harris has not panned out the way the Sixers hoped he would when they acquired him midseason in 2019. After giving him a five-year, $180 million contract the following offseason, Harris has never quite fit the Sixers.
Since joining the team, he’s never eclipsed a 20-point average. While he’s still an efficient scorer, he’s always been more of a complementary piece than one of the Sixers’ best players. Given what he’s been paid, his performance has not been received well by Sixers fans.
Harris played for the Pistons from 2016 to 2018.
Tobias Harris Predicted to Re-Join Pistons
Harris may not get the same contract the Sixers gave him in 2019. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t get another big contract on the open market. Even if it won’t be with the Sixers.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz explained in an April 2 story why he could see Harris get something like that when he predicted that Harris would rejoin the Pistons.
“With most win-now teams being short on cap space, Harris’ list of landing spots is tricky to pin down, but the Detroit Pistons reportedly had interest in him at the trade deadline, per The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III, and they could value Harris even more as a free-agent addition and not one that would’ve cost them trade assets. They have cap space to burn and might covet an established veteran to help bring their rebuilding roster along.”
The Pistons are in the middle of a rebuild and don’t have much to lose if they bring Harris back. If the Sixers manage to get a talent upgrade over Harris, like Paul George, they won’t miss Harris much.
Pistons Will Chase Tobias Harris During Offseason: Report
In that February 5 story, Edwards reported that the Pistons had interest. However, he explained why they were likely to go after him during the offseason instead of at the Trade Deadline.
“The feeling I’ve gotten is that the Pistons are more likely to go after Harris in the summer using cap space. Detroit appears to be on the fence about giving up any type of asset for a player it could simply sign this summer.”
Edwards added why Harris would return to Detroit despite them being one of the NBA’s worst teams.
“Harris has personal connections to Detroit and relationships with several in the front office and coaching staff. Depending on Philadelphia’s asking price for Harris, it might make more sense for the Pistons to just sit it out until this summer.”
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$180 Million Sixer ‘May Be as Good as Gone’ This Offseason: Report