Getty Philadelphia 76ers stars Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons are trying to win a championship in Philly.
The conveying wisdom has been that Ben Simmons is on the trading block, but what if the Philadelphia 76ers intend to part ways with another player? They have $180 million tied into star forward Tobias Harris and he could be easier to move.
The Sacramento Kings had been rumored to be in the mix to land Simmons – Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III were thrown out as a possible guys to get back in a deal – but the Western Conference might prefer to get Harris. Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee mentioned Harris as a player to watch in trade talks between the Sixers and Kings, adding that Sacramento acquiring Simmons was a “pipe dream.” Anderson wrote the following about it:
One league source felt Simmons was a “pipe dream” for Sacramento, saying the 76ers would want Hield, Bagley and a minimum of three future first-round draft picks, including the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft. The source felt there was a better chance of an alternate deal involving 76ers forward Tobias Harris, suggesting Philadelphia might prefer to move Harris to clear salary cap space.
We asked agents/execs about a Kings-76ers trade involving Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III and Ben Simmons.
– How many 1st-round picks included?
– Would Philly rather move Tobias Harris?
– Would Kings part with Fox/Haliburton?
– Bagley “unappreciative” ⬇️
Harris inked a five-year, $180 million max contract (via Spotrac) in 2019. Better yet, he has no player option so he is fully under team control for the duration of the deal. The former 19th overall pick is coming off a career year where he averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game in 62 games while shooting 39.4% from three-point range.
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Sixers President Talked About Keeping ‘Core Trio’
Sixers president Daryl Morey side-stepped questions about whether Simmons was indeed on the market during his end-of-year media availability. He maintained that he liked having three “All-Stars” on the roster in Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris.
Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris accounted for 64.5% of the Sixers cap room this season
Each player is on the books until at least the 2022-23 season
He sure sounded like a man committed to keeping what he called the “core trio” together for at least one more season.
“I would say if we have an extremely good trio, you don’t get the one seed [in the Eastern Conference] without having extremely strong top-end players,” Morey told reporters. “In terms of what’s the best next steps, they give us just three tools: free agency, trade and draft. We’re going to figure out how to make the team better.
“The reality is only one team is left standing every year so it’s a tough challenge. We gave ourselves a very good chance this year. Our chance to win the title peaked pretty high this year, and obviously it’s a grave disappointment that we’re here and we got to take the next step.”
Harris Reflects on Tough Game 7 Loss
In the wake of that disappointing Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Harris seemed to echo Morey’s comments about wanting to keep the band together for another championship run. He also pointed out that “postseason basketball” is different than the regular season. Maybe some guys in the Sixers’ locker room hadn’t grasped the moment.
“Postseason’s just a different ballgame than regular season,” Harris said after Game 7. “Postseason it’s every possession counts, you know that type of defensive intensity is there from both sides of the team.
“You’re giving your best effort every time down [the court] because playoff basketball becomes one-possession basketball at the end of the day. So it’s just a different, whole different speed, whole different feel to it.”
Tobias Harris has a message for #sixers fans.
