Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris is the NBA’s highest-paid third option
Is Tobias Harris the Philadelphia 76ers’ highest-paid 3-and-D wing of all time?
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘that guy could be the first option on a championship team’?
In theory, the idea goes a little bit like this: In the vast majority of cases, a championship-caliber team is built around a handful – usually three – of superstar players. While any of said players could theoretically be a team’s top scorer in any given game – think Dwyane Wade with the Heat or Kyrie Irving with the Cavs – typically teams ride a particular hierarchy with one player being the top option, another serving as option numero dos, and so on and so forth.
To be a really good team, you need to have a great first option, yes, but you also need an elite second and even third option to really rise above the rest and punch at a consistent weight class.
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For every team like the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors, who win it all with an elite 3-and-D wing, an ascending youngster on a rookie contract, and a wily veteran point guard, you get a team like the 2019-20 Heat, with one certified elite player and a handful of third-ish options who just can’t seem to overcome the one-two punch of a pair of top-10 players.
Why did I just waste 200 words of your time explaining this rather self-explanatory concept? Well, because Tobias Harris, the owner of the richest contract in Philadelphia 76ers history, may also be the highest-paid third option in NBA history.
Now sure, technically, Harris finished out the 2019-20 season second on the team in points per game, third in total rebounds per game, first in field goal attempts, and first in 3 point shot attempts per game. His 2.53 Real Plus-Minus ranked second on the team – and 34th overall – and in a weird twist of fate, his 3.02 Defensive Real Plus-Minus ranked 12th overall league-wide – higher than Patrick Beverly, Robert Covington, and yes, even ‘The Process’ himself, Joel Embiid.
But in an ideal world, is that really the optimal role for Harris?
Sure, Harris has filled a ton of different roles over his decade in the NBA, the top offensive option of the Los Angeles Clippers, the second option in Detroit alongside Andre Drummond, and even a part-time starter in Orlando. By all accounts, Harris is a stand-up guy, a great teammate, and an ideal locker room presence regardless of a team’s composition, but that doesn’t mean he’s a top-tier player worthy of being on the tickets for a home playoff game – at least not in games 1-4.
With Embiid locked in as the Sixers’ top two-way player until proven otherwise, and Ben Simmons just cracking the surface of his offensive potential, at best, Harris’ role will presumably look a whole lot more like J.J. Redick‘s in 2018-19 than Jimmy Butler moving forward.
If it doesn’t, well, that would be a massive indictment of the Sixers’ brand-spankin’ new coaching staff.
While Harris is a legitimate three-level scorer capable of driving to the basket, knocking down a spot-up 3, or pull up for a mid-range J, he’s too often a passive player who lacks the killer instinct that made Butler a hometown hero overnight in the City of Brotherly Love. In an auxiliary role, playing off of Embiid like a super-sized J.J., Harris could add a whole heap of frosting on top of the Sixers’ offensive ice cream cake, but those off and on-ball screens become a whole lot less valuable if they’re all that’s on the plate.
Heck, one could make the case that Harris may be best suited in a fourth-option sort of role, with either Al Horford or Josh Richardson netting the Sixers a star-level guard capable of contributing at both ends of the court as a secondary playmaker.
Either way, Harris’ ceiling on a championship-caliber team is as a third option, which honestly, is totally fine.
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From Chris Bosh to Kevin Love, Draymond Green, and Manu Ginóbili, finding a great third option capable of carrying his team without a massive ego is sort of a lost art in the annals of team building 101. While only time will tell if Tobias Harris has what it takes to fill that role on the Philadelphia 76ers moving forward, he at least has the correct composition, skill set, and two-way talent to fit the theoretical mold. With that being said, if Ben Simmons isn’t able to take a step forward and firmly establish himself as a legit number two, the Sixers will, unfortunately, be straddled with two passive players and Joel Embiid to hang their championship hopes on for the foreseeable future.