Getty Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, James Harden and P.J. Tucker of the Philadelphia 76ers
Since the Philadelphia 76ers introduced “The Process” in 2013, fans have wondered which player the team must add to get over the hump to win a championship.
If that player were the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine, the Sixers’ starting lineup would be “unguardable,” according to The Ringer’s Michael Pina in his June 27 roundup of the “most intriguing NBA players and teams of free agency.”
“Tobias Harris for Zach LaVine is my favorite random, hypothetical, one-for-one trade that needs to be put into the universe but probably won’t happen,” Pina wrote.
LaVine, 28, is entering the second year of a five-year, $215 million deal that makes him the third highest paid shooting guard in the league. But, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, have been “quietly gauging” trade interest in LaVine.
“Even though it’s likely to avoid the [luxury] tax next year, Chicago does the trade to get off LaVine’s salary without taking a significant hit in short-term production,” Pina wrote, “and then has the option to essentially start all over next summer and rebuild through free agency.”
Pina did point out some obvious hangups with the deal.
“The Sixers, meanwhile, exchange one of their weaker links for a dynamic All-Star talent,” he wrote. “Yes, there’s some overlap here between LaVine and Tyrese Maxey on a team that’s desperate for more defensive stoppers. But Harden, Maxey, LaVine, P.J. Tucker, and Joel Embiid would be unguardable.”
Tobias Harris Claps Back at Sixers Fans
Harris, who is entering the final year of a five-year, $180 million deal he signed in 2019, has come up in trade discussions. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported that the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks joined the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers have shown interest in acquiring Harris, a 12-year veteran.
He had words for Sixers fans who are eager to see him shipped out of town.
“Trade speculation — you know, casual Sixers fans, they’ll trade me for a Crumbl Cookie,” Harris said, according to a NBC Sports Philadelphia tweet on June 27. “But at the end of the day, they have to realize, like, you know, you’re not getting a 6-9 forward back who can, you know, damn near shoot 40% from three, guard other teams’ best player, shoot, post up, drive, play 70-plus games a year.”
“Casual Sixers fans, they’ll trade me for a Crumbl Cookie.”
Tobias Harris chimes in on the trade speculation surrounding him. ⤵️
When one Sixers fan tweeted at Harris that he’d “trade (him) for the bag the crumble cookies come in,” Harris corrected the fan: “Actually, Greg, it comes in a box…”
James Harden Has Not Made Decision With Player Option
The Sixers’ James Harden entered the offseason with the expectation that he would be among the upper-tier unrestricted free agents. However, that was all dependent on whether he would opt out of his current contract with the Sixers. Despite all the reports indicating that he will opt out, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on June 27 that Harden had not made a decision. The deadline to make a decision is June 29.
“I’m told that James Harden and his representatives have not made a decision yet on that $35.6 million player option that he would have to exercise by Thursday afternoon. He gives them about two days now to figure out whether it makes more sense to decline it and then go into free agency where they can negotiate a new deal with the Sixers or look elsewhere,” Wojnarowski said.
He added that while the Sixers would love to have him come back, the heart of the negotiations will be how much they’re willing to pay for Harden and for how long.
“For Philadelphia, they very much want James Harden back,” Wojnarowski said. “They can’t replace him if he walks in free agency, but the question will be — as it typically — at what price and how many years?… I think the Sixers certainly would perhaps like to do that deal with fewer years, and that’s where potentially the negotiation takes place if he declines once free agency starts Friday night, but as of now, Harden still has to decide ahead of Thursday to decline or pick up the player option.”
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