Philadelphia 76ers: Don’t rule out a Tobias Harris trade this offseason

Following the Philadelphia 76ers premature exit in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Ben Simmons‘ name has been the main one on everyone’s mouth when it comes to who should/could be traded this offseason. For what it’s worth, it makes perfect sense. The Simmons-Embiid partnership is one that has struggled to produce lasting results in the past, and the manner in which Simmons seemingly checked out as an offensive scorer against the Atlanta Hawks really put an emphasis on some of his in-game flaws.

It also was just a few months ago that Simmons was nearly traded away to Houston for James Harden – it’s not unreasonable to assume that Daryl Morey will try to deal him again this upcoming offseason.

However, there’s another name that shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to potential big-time moves this summer. As much as he’s grown to be loved by a good number of Sixers fans due to the manner in which he’s embraced the city, Tobias Harris has yet to prove he himself can be a championship caliber piece.

Despite an overall productive year with the Philadelphia 76ers, Tobias Harris shouldn’t be viewed as “untouchable” this offseason.

On paper, Harris had a very productive 2020-21 season. In fact, one could argue that it was the best season of his NBA career. He averaged 19.5 points per game with a career-best eFG% of .556, and was a fringe All-Star. Harris’ postseason numbers were equally as impressive, averaging 21.8 points per game while posting an eFG% of .526. By all accounts and measures, that’s exactly what you want to see out of your “third star” – consistent 20 point nights on good efficiency.

With all of that said, Harris still had some struggles – specifically against the Hawks – that are worth highlighting.

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His four point performance in Game 5 was a major reason the team choked away a 26 point lead at home (2-11 from the field), and his 8-24 performance in Game 7 left something to be desired as well. During both losses, Doc Rivers repeatedly drew up isolation type plays for Harris around the low block, plays that rarely resulted in an open look for Harris, or anyone else on the Sixers for that matter.

At times, it felt like the team was simply taking turns dumping the ball into Harris or Embiid, while everyone else stood around watching. While most of the blame could easily be placed on Doc Rivers for running a less-than-inspiring offensive scheme, it’s still worth mentioning that Harris struggled as a pure isolation/wing scorer in the postseason, which is something the Philadelphia 76ers need more of around Embiid moving forward.

The odds of Harris being dealt this offseason are on the lower side due to his lofty contract and the leadership role that he maintains on the roster, but I wouldn’t rule it out. The Sixers only have so many years left of Embiid’s prime, and Harris has undoubtedly raised his trade value around the league. This is less about moving Harris due to him being “bad” (he’s actually a very good player), it’s more so about hunting that ever elusive “fit” alongside Embiid.

While Ben Simmons is the first domino that needs to fall this summer, for obvious reasons, I find it hard to believe that Daryl Morey would pass on trading Harris for yet another perimeter scorer, if such a deal ends up becoming possible. To put it bluntly, no-one (except for Embiid) is off the table this offseason.