Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Philadelphia 76ers
Although they have invested a lot of money in Tobias Harris for years to come, this may have been a mistake by the Philadelphia 76ers. Since joining the Sixers during the 2018-19 season, Harris has been a reliable third scoring option during the regular season, but his struggles in the NBA playoffs are definitely concerning.
His playoff numbers compared to his regular season numbers were way down last season, as he averaged about 4 less points per game in the playoffs, shot about 7% less from the floor and shot over 20% less from three-point range. This cannot happen this year for Philly, especially if they are to be a true championship contender and not a championship pretender once again.
Given his struggles in the NBA playoffs and the fact that he has such a massive contract that ties up a lot of Philadelphia’s ability to spend money in free agency, it may be in their best interest to trade Harris, especially if they can get a player like Julius Randle in return.
Randle has struggled at times over his career, but overall, he is a better overall talent than Harris and is two years younger than him as well. Given that he is a free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season, assuming they do not guarantee his contract for 2021-22, the Sixers would have the option of re-signing him to a less contract than Harris has currently, or they could go out and explore other possible targets in free agency.
The additions of Ntilikina and Austin Rivers could also help the Sixers make the playoff push they hope to make this year. Rivers, the son of 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, just signed a contract this offseason with New York, but they would likely have no problem moving him to acquire Tobias Harris.
Over the years, Rivers has been a part of numerous playoff contenders, most recently in Houston with James Harden and the Rockets. He is a proven scorer and perimeter defender off the bench, which could be key seeing as the Sixers have some questions in their backcourt.
If the 76ers want to go all-in on winning a championship, then trading away Tobias Harris is the move they need to make because he can not be a consistent third option on a championship contender. Spreading the wealth for that “third scorer” scoring could be extremely beneficial to the Sixers and make them a difficult team to guard offensively.
