76ers Hopeful Tobias Harris Can Be a Key Paul George Trade Chip, per Report

Stephen Douglas | Jun 24, 2024

Mar 1, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (12) gets past Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George (13) for a dunk in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers are desperate to upgrade their roster after yet another disappointing postseason. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer went over a number of potential paths the team could take once the NBA Draft begins—and the 76ers suddenly have cap space to go along with a number of draft picks they could trade to strengthen the team around center Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey.

One player who will not be back next season is free agent Tobias Harris. The soon-to-be 32 year old forward just played out the final season of a 5-year, $180 million contract. Over six seasons with Philadelphia Harris averaged 17 points, six rebounds and three assists a game, but only averaged nine points a game during the teams' most recent playoff loss. While Harris was always available, they never made it out of the second round during his time there.

Despite all that, there is apparently a team interested in acquiring Harris' services—and they just so happen to be the ideal trade partners for the 76ers. Pompey wrote that they could use Harris and the 16th pick in this draft to get Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George: "L.A. has some level of interest in Harris, a soon-to-be free agent and former Clipper, according to a league source. And if George opts to become a free agent, don’t rule out Philly going after him."

So they're going after him either way, but "some level of interest" is better than no level of interest. If that actually makes a George trade more likely, what great fortune for Philadelphia. Harris is just two years younger than George, but doesn't have anywhere near the resume that George has. If the 76ers are really able to swap them with relative ease it would be a huge win for Philadelphia.

Harris spent a little over a season and a half in LA earlier in his career before the Clippers traded him to the 76ers. If Philadelphia does end up working out a sign-and-trade deal, Harris will have been traded by the Clippers, 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Bobcats, who drafted him 11th overall in 2011.