With Ben Simmons Gone, Philadelphia 76ers Have a New Elephant in the Room

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Ever since the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers engineered the biggest blockbuster trade of this NBA season, much of the talk has centered around how Sixers newcomer James Harden would mesh with Joel Embiid, and more specifically how that particular pairing would impact this year’s title chase. 

As important as their play will be to Philly’s chances at an NBA title, it’s another Sixers player, Tobias Harris, who will be the tipping point in this team’s quest for a title now and next year. 

Prior to the February 10 trade deadline, Harris was among the players talked about as potentially being on the move, often linked with being part of a trade along with Ben Simmons. For now, Harris’ play will be a critical piece in what Sixers’ brass believes is a team that’s built to win it all, now. 

The trade has worked out pretty well thus far for Philadelphia. In the five games played with Harden and Harris on the floor, Philadelphia has emerged victorious in each game. 

But even with a good start that could result in Philly’s first NBA title since 1983, league executives are convinced the Sixers will be actively looking to move on from Harris this summer. 

“It’s not that Tobias is a bad player; far from it,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “But that contract. He’s basically making max-player money as the team’s fourth option behind James, Joel and (Tyrese) Maxey.”

When Harris was traded to Philadelphia from the Los Angeles Clippers at the 2019 trade deadline, he was viewed as that much-needed shooter the Sixers were desperately looking for to pair with Embiid and Simmons. His scoring took a slight dip in Philly from 20.9 to 18.2 points per game, as did his three-point shooting (43.4 to 32.6 percent). But his floor-spacing potential was intriguing to a franchise that desperately wanted another wing scorer to complement Embiid and Simmons. 

So Philadelphia rolled the dice and signed him to a five-year, $180 million contract. When the Sixers hired Doc Rivers—Harris’ former coach with the Clippers—it wasn’t a stretch to believe that they would soon get the best Harris had to offer. Under Rivers in Los Angeles, Harris was his best version.

But Harris never met expectations consistent with what a max or near-max-salaried player earns.

Of course, the very reason the Sixers will look to move him this summer—his contract—is the same hindrance to getting a deal done. The 6’8″ wing has two years and $76.9 million remaining on the five-year, $180 million deal he signed prior to the 2019-2020 season. 

It doesn’t help that Harris, 29, isn’t getting any younger at the same time his overall game statistically is trending in the wrong direction. This season, he is averaging 17.9 points, his lowest scoring average since 2016-17 when he was in Detroit (16.1 points per game while starting just 48 times).

A career 36.5 percent shooter from three-point range, Harris has made just 33.5 percent of his threes this season, and that number is actually better than how he had been shooting for most of the year. 

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His age and contract alone make him a difficult sell. He’s still viewed as a good player, but not one that’s worth a near-max contract when someone with a slightly lower ceiling as a scorer could be acquired at a significantly smaller cap hit. 

In the 10 games since the trade deadline passed, Harris has scored below his 17.9 points-per-game average in all but one game. In that span, he has averaged 12.4 points per night, shooting 50-of-122 (41.0 percent) from the field and 10-of-35 (28.6 percent)—both well below his season and career numbers.

However, you can’t ignore that despite the underwhelming numbers Harris has posted, the Sixers are still winning games when he’s on the floor. 

Philadelphia has won eight of its last 10 games. And in the wins, the 76ers are plus-93 with Harris on the floor. In the two losses, they’re minus-50.

So the thought that he has a negative impact on the team’s success isn’t the issue. 

More to the point, can Philly get comparable production from another player or players and do so in a way that provides added flexibility to spend in other areas of need? 

NBA scouts and executives anticipate things will remain relatively quiet on Harris’ future between now and the playoffs. But there will come a point in the offseason when the Sixers will have to address it.

Until then, they’ll focus on trying to get more out of all their players, Harris included. 

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The addition of Harden should, offensively at least, be a positive for Harris. You don’t have to look far to find players who will vouch for the benefits of playing with Harden. Shortly after being released by the Los Angeles Lakers, veteran center DeAndre Jordan signed with the 76ers in part to play with Harden again (the two were teammates in Brooklyn last season).

“I mean, for a big, or anybody trying to get easy baskets, he’s the best guy to play with,” Jordan said during his introductory press conference in Philly. “He’s so unselfish when it comes to passing and getting guys open and getting other guys going because he can get himself going at any point in time.”

The addition of Harden should create more scoring opportunities for Harris.  But he is gradually falling back to the pack behind Embiid, Harden and Maxey in terms of shot distribution. 

In the last 10 games, Harris has averaged 12.2 shots. During the same span, Maxey is getting 13.4 shot attempts per outing.

Harris’ future is not one of the more pressing concerns for the Sixers now. But his status is important because who Harden plays with will go far in determining the likelihood of the Sixers’ title hopes and the chances of Harden sticking around longer than he did in Brooklyn. 

The addition of Harden, regardless of how the wins are stacking up, is a good thing for Philadelphia. 

But is it good for Harris?