3 teams who should call the Philadelphia 76ers about Tobias Harris

Houston, the Philadelphia 76ers might have a solution.

Between you and me, this is my favorite potential trade idea because it just makes a ton of sense for both parties involved.

The Houston Rockets are a bad team. Don’t let their recent win streak fool you; they aren’t making the playoffs or even the play-in game, and if we’re being honest, they probably shouldn’t even want to, as it would mess with the number of ping pong balls they secure in 2022.

With that being said, the Rockets do need to put the pieces in place to eventually win, which should involve more young players, which Philly has, and a high-character veteran who can lead the locker room and provide offensive consistency to a very hot-and-cold team.

By my estimation, the Rockets have three pillars they can build around, Kevin Porter as a combo guard, Josh Green on the wings, Alperen Şengün in the paint. Sure, they also have a pair of specialists in Garrison Mathews and Jae’Sean Tate, who are very impressive, but those two are more complementary pieces than true starters.

What is missing from that quartet? A combo forward like Tobias Harris who can play off of the youngsters and help them grow. Factor in a promising young big like Paul Reed, who doesn’t get nearly enough minutes from Doc Rivers, and a player like either Jaden Springer or Shake Milton, and the Rockets could seriously supplement their current rebuild by exchanging some of Daryl Morey’s former acquisitions – plus original Process Sixer, Christain Wood – for younger on-court fits.

And as for the Sixers? Well, how would they look with a Big 3 of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and a top-25 player with Eric Gordon running the second unit, Christian Wood at the four, and Danuel House bolstering the reserve frontcourt? Assuming the Sixers want to embrace what has worked best for them so far this season, attacking the paint with catch-and-shooters on the wings, implementing a post-Simmons Big 3 with willing role players may make more sense than having Harris continue on with his current role, even if you’d be swapping out a quarter for two dimes and a nickel.

Remember, Harris was initially acquired to be the ultimate 3-and-D guy, not an ISO scorer. Securing more of the former with higher-ceiling versions of the latter is still the best way to win around Embiid.

Until the Philadelphia 76ers actually trade Ben Simmons, it’s basically impossible to predict any other ancillary deals. Why trade for a passing veteran point if such a guard could come back in the deal? Why do the same for a big wing when one very much could still be on the table too? Outside of stealing a buy-low shooter away from a bad team, the best course of action right now is to wait and see how the market continues to develop and hope that the East Conference standings aren’t too distorted when it’s time to compete. But once Simmons is moved, don’t be surprised if Tobias Harris’ name comes up on conversations as well, as he may no longer be a fit with the team in a post-BS world.