Getty Tobias Harris #12 and Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers talk.
Throughout his career, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has used his platform to speak up on social justice issues. While the veteran forward should be applauded for the work he does off the court, it caused him to get bombarded on social media.
Recently, the New York Times put out a story about former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. Ironically enough, the post was written by an author also named Tobias Harris. When Sixers fans caught a hold of this, they instantly went into a frenzy.
After endless tagging on social media, Tobias Harris joking ended the speculation that it was he who wrote the article. “If you’ve followed me for long enough you’d know my grammar isn’t on that level lol,” he tweeted. The actual author of the article eventually found the post and apologized to Harris for getting blindsided.
Tobias Ranked in 4B Tier of NBA’s Top 125 Players
In the dog days of the NBA offseason, the people at The Athletic decided to rank the top 125 players heading into next season. Each grouping was tiered, followed by its own sub-section.
Tobias Harris finds himself in the 4B tier of The Athletic’s rankings. Some notable names in this group include Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, former number one overall pick Cade Cunningham, and Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole. Tyrese Maxey finds himself slightly ahead of Harris in the 4A tier.
“Connector” is a term that has gained currency in the NBA over the last several years. The definition is somewhat malleable, but in general, it refers to guys who somewhat bridge the gap between their team’s primary initiator star and the completely teammate-dependent role players. These are guys who can do a little bit of everything.
Last season for the Sixers, Harris posted averages of 17.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG.
Sixers Still in Pursuit of Eric Gordon
For a majority of the offseason, the Sixers have been heavily connected to Houston Rockets veteran Eric Gordon. Even after the addition of De’Anthony Melton on draft night, reports continued to surface of Philly eyeing the former Sixth Man of the Year.
Recently, Heavy’s NBA insider Sean Deveney spoke with an Eastern Conference executive about the Sixers still going after Gordon. The interest is still there, but there is one major roadblock they can’t get passed. That being finding a suitor to take on Tobias Harris and his sizable contract.
“They want Eric Gordon but none of that can happen unless they find a place for Tobias Harris. And they have exhausted every avenue on a Tobias deal.” The exec told Deveney. “They will keep trying to find ways to get Gordon but the Rockets have better offers.”
The 33-year-old guard played in 57 games for the Rockets last season and averaged 13.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.7 APG. On top of that, Gordon also shot a stellar 41.2% from three on just over five attempts per game. His experience paired next to a young two-way guard like Melton would give Doc Rivers all the firepower he needs for his second unit.
If the Sixers want to facilitate a deal for Gordon, they will have to clear space or find a way to match his $19.5 million salary for this upcoming season.