Getty Tobias Harris #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers are will trot out one of the league’s most loaded rosters next season. With past MVP James Harden and perennial candidate Joel Embiid at the top and burgeoning star Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers have about as fearsome a top three as any in basketball.
And the bench improved mightily this summer, bolstered by the additions of De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House, and Montrezl Harrell. Each should help improve a bench that finished 28th in scoring and 27th in assists last season.
And then there’s Tobias Harris. Philadelphia’s fourth option is reliable, but he’s certainly no star. In fact, the last individual award that Harris took home was a Second-Team All-SEC honor in 2011, while Harris was a freshman at Tennessee. The only problem? Harris is being paid like someone who consistently earns All-Star nods and All-NBA nominations. His $37.6 million next season is 15th-highest in the league, sandwiched between Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and Atlanta Hawks stud Trae Young.
But Harris isn’t even a top-50 player, let alone a top-16. At least, according to ESPN, that is. The sports network published its preseason NBA players rankings, and listed the Sixers forward at No. 56. It’s a tough rank, especially considering that last season Harris was ten spots higher at No. 46.
In its ranking, the network posed a serious question for Harris heading into next season.
Harris Suddenly Finds Himself Lower on the Sixers’ Food Chain
Harris’ lower ranking likely comes as his projected spot in the Sixers’ pecking order is lower this season than it was last year. This time last summer, Harris had a legitimate case that he was the Sixers’ second-best option behind Joel Embiid, with Ben Simmons demanding a trade and sitting out.
But after the addition of James Harden at the trade deadline and Tyrese Maxey’s rapid ascension, Harris suddenly finds himself fourth on the Sixers’ depth chart. ESPN noted that factor in their analysis.
“Over the final two months of last season, Harris settled into a groove playing alongside midseason acquisition James Harden and arguably played the best basketball of his career. But on a team where he is now arguably the fourth scoring option, can he continue to handle that sort of role over the course of a full season? (Harris will also spend more time at small forward due to the arrival of PJ Tucker.),” wrote Tim Bontemps of ESPN on September 20.
In theory, the addition of Harden and the rise of Maxey should ease the pressure on Harris. On the flip side, it endangers Harris from slipping even further into the background, a factor complicated by his mega-salary.
But the Sixers could also be looking to trade Harris. In fact, one analyst believes Philadelphia’s best crunch-time lineup doesn’t involve Harris at all.
Philadelphia’s ‘Ideal’ Lineup Scenario Sees Harris Benched
Harris’ reliability and contract will likely mean he slots into the starting lineup this season, no questions asked. And during the regular season, his play might be the difference between a game or two.
But come playoff time, the Sixers might experiment with different roster types, including one that swaps Harris for De’Anthony Melton, the Sixers’ tenacious defender brought in via trade over the summer. And it might be Philadelphia’s best-case scenario.
“Without Harris, the roster does theoretically make more sense: imagine the big bruising frontcourt of Embiid and Tucker, complemented by the jarring contrast of Maxey and Melton’s athleticism, with all of it orchestrated by Harden’s shimmering basketball brain. That’s the ideal that the most optimistic of Sixers forecasters have in mind,” wrote John Wilmes of RealGM last week.
Harris’s name has been swirling in trade rumors all summer. And by the looks of things, he might become Sixers GM Daryl Morey’s latest trade-deadline blockbuster chip.