The offseason is officially here in the NBA after the Golden State Warriors took home the 2022 title by knocking off the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The focus for the Philadelphia 76ers and everybody in the NBA is to improve for the 2022-23 season.
The Sixers are in the process of analyzing the roster and considering what moves can be made to help their star duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden. With not much money to play with in free agency, they might have to go the trade route.
Philadelphia has begun to gauge trade interest in Tobias Harris to see what they can get for one of the more versatile players in the league. After a slow start, Harris came on strong in the 2021-22 season. He shot 40% from deep after the All-Star break while playing with Harden after adjusting to a new role with the Sixers for what seems like the umpteenth time.
HoopsHype put together a list of the top power forwards based on their trade value and Harris comes in 10th:
Harris remains a great role player, but his contract has limited his trade value over the last few seasons. With only two years left on it, his value has slowly grown solely based on the passage of time.
Harris averaged 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in the 2021-22 season while having to adjust to two different versions of the Sixers. Before Harden, he had to handle the ball more as young Tyrese Maxey was adjusting to the NBA level and replacing Ben Simmons as ballhandler.
After Harden arrived, Harris was relegated to being the fourth offensive option on most nights, and he didn’t complain. Instead, he accepted his role and flourished as a spot-up 3-point shooter. He also excelled on defense.
Harris stepped his game up in the playoffs. He shot 50% from the floor and averaged 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds while having to defend Pascal Siakam and Jimmy Butler. He can still be a valuable piece to the Sixers if they decide to keep him and try again with this group. He is a positive influence in the locker room so, despite the contract, he has done everything Philadelphia has asked.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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