The Philadelphia 76ers made a move at the trade deadline in the 2018-19 season to move promising young shooter Landry Shamet to the Los Angeles Clippers to acquire Tobias Harris. The move was met with some confusion as most believe Shamet has a bright future in the league while Harris was set to be a free agent in the offseason.
The offseason came and the Sixers had decisions to make in free agency when it came to Harris and Jimmy Butler. Of course, Butler left for the Miami Heat and the Sixers had to offer Harris a 5-year $180 million. It would have been an awful look for the organization if they let Butler go and lose Harris as well. It was the position the franchise was in.
The deal for Harris was met with a lot of criticism as it is a hefty amount of cash for a guy who has never made an All-Star game. However, Harris has definitely done his part for this team.
Harris was asked to do a lot of things on offense this season. He basically had to replace both JJ Redick’s shooting as well as Butler’s crunch time scoring. He won’t ever come close to being the shooter that Redick was, but he is shooting 39.2% on catch-and-shoot jumpers which is what he has to do much more of in this offense to create space.
He’s also shooting 36.2% from deep on the season and he has improved on the number as the season has gone on. He shot a putrid 28.3% from deep in November, but it then rose to 37.8% in December, 38% in January, and then up to 41.7% in February. He was shooting 35.5% in March before the season suspension.
He also has shown off an ability to close games out and make plays out of nothing. One example is a matchup with the New York Knicks in January with the game on the line and he turned a broken play into a go-ahead triple to clinch the game. The play was supposed to be for Josh Richardson, but when the Knicks blocked it off, Harris made the right read and was able to nail a tough 3-pointer for the lead.
He also forced a turnover on the ensuing Knicks possession to put the final nail in the coffin. His defensive rating is at 109 on the season which is his best showing since the 2016-17 season.
He also can score in a variety of ways. He is a physical player who can shrug off contact and get a bucket in the post. He’s shooting 58.4% on shots within 10 feet of the basket and when he is forced to take multiple dribbles, he can score efficiently. He is shooting 47.9% when he has taken seven or more dribbles.
Along with his impact on the floor, Harris has made a huge impact off it as he has become one of the leaders for this team. He has taken both rookies Matisse Thybulle and Marial Shayok under his wing as both players have had high praise for him. [lawrence-related id=20924,28342]
He also has stepped forward in helping organize team activities off the floor to try and promote team chemistry.
I just want us to really understand each other off the floor. I feel like the closer we are as a group outside of basketball, we’ll tend to fight harder for your brother that you can understand. There’s ups and downs throughout a season so just being able to be transparent with one another and communicate, I think a lot of those things happen off the floor.
Is Harris truly worth $180 million? Probably not, but he is the type of guy who can really bring a team together on both ends of the floor. He can make a positive impact and, being only 27-years old, he can continue to become a more well-rounded player. It isn’t like he’s done growing as a player or anything. There is still time.
Hopefully, Harris and the Sixers will continue to get that chance in the 2019-20 season. [lawrence-related id=28474,28465,28458]