With the NBA Draft coming up on June 22, plenty of teams could be looking for help, and not just via the draft. Teams like the Indiana Pacers could look into trading for some veteran help. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony floated multiple options they could look into in his June 20 mock draft, including Philadelphia 76ers starter Tobias Harris.
“The Pacers trading for a veteran such as Tobias Harris, De’Andre Hunter, or Dorian Finney-Smith is an option that could be explored as well,” Givony wrote.
The Pacers have the No. 7 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but giving that up for Harris seems a little steep, knowing that Harris’ contract is expiring after next season. However, they also have No. 26 and No. 29 picks in the draft, thanks to the trades they made with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, respectively.
Those assets could be floated in a possible deal for Harris, though the Sixers may want established veteran talent in exchange for Harris instead of young players on rookie contracts, knowing that their current goals are to win a title.
Insider Expects Tobias Harris to Be Traded
On June 18, Matt Moore of Action Network gave his thoughts on things will go down in the offseason, which included his strong belief that Harris will be among the players who will play for a new team next season.
“Tobias Harris for the Sixers and Tyus Jones for the Grizzlies are two players I am confident will be on new teams by the end of the summer,” Moore wrote.
Harris sadly has not fit very well on the Sixers from Day One, and being paid $180 million for the role he plays has made his underwhelming performance stand out like a sore thumb. Now that he’s expiring, it’s feasible that the Sixers could trade him for teams looking to clear up their salary cap.
With the $39.3 million he’s slated to make next season, the Sixers could potentially turn him into another star if they want, or multiple players who would give them more depth and fit the roster better than him.
Sixers Not Rushing Into Tobias Harris Trade
Despite Harris’ name being floated around in multiple trades, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice reported on June 20 that the Sixers aren’t discussing a trade at the moment and are in no rush to make a deal.
“One source familiar with the Sixers’ thinking urged caution when asked if a deal for Harris could materialize this week, suggesting there was no real traction on a deal at present and that the team wouldn’t rush into a deal just to trade Harris for the sake of it,” Neubeck wrote.
Neubeck added that the Sixers have confidence that they will have opportunities to trade Harris later on and won’t trade him just for the sake of trading him unless there are long-term benefits.
“While shifting trade rules will alter their options after July 1st, the Sixers believe they’ll have multiple windows (the draft, the pre-camp period, and the pre-deadline period) to explore potential trades and won’t commit to dealing Harris unless it improves Philadelphia’s flexibility or top-end ceiling.”
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Sixers’ Tobias Harris Floated as Trade Option for East Rival