Philly Front Office

When the Sixers traded for Tobias Harris, it represented the ultimate representation of the goods and bads of big swings at the deadline. Can one trade be all of good, bad, exciting, and depressing? We only look back on this deal in one way right now, but let’s go back in time…

The Sixers were a very good team at this point. Joel Embiid was coming into his own, Ben Simmons was already a defensive monster and not yet a total offensive liability, and recently acquired Jimmy Butler was giving us the entire Jimmy Butler experience (for better and for worse). Still, it was the trade deadline and the Sixers didn’t really have a GM. This is post burner-gate we are talking about but also pre Daryl Morey. The front office was run by Elton Brand, Brett Brown, and about a dozen other voices. We also had an extra draft pick from the Zhaire Smith – Mikal Bridges swap still in our back pocket.

A Definitive Ranking of Obscure Sixers Injuries

Shortly before the trade deadline, news broke that the Sixers made a deal for Tobias Harris and we paid a premium: two 1sts, two 2nds, promising rookie Landry Shamet, and future hero Mike Muscala (plus Wilson Chandler, but nobody cares about him). Also coming back was (hive) Mike Scott and gentle giant Boban Marjanovic. The reaction was mixed. On one hand, that was a lot to give up for a guy on an expiring contract, but on the other the Sixers were really and truly going for it. It was exciting, really exciting. It almost worked.

Imfamously, the season ended on four bounces of a Kawhi Leonard off balance (traveled) jumper that sunk the good guys in Game 7 of the second round. Toronto would go on to win the NBA championship and the Sixers would go into the offseason full of uncertainty.

Back then, the Sixers still had salary flexibility and could have resigned both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Unfortunately, they went another way. Fresh in the mind of the front office congress was the on/off splits for Joel Embiid against the Raptors. The team was a +89 for the series when he played and -108 when he didn’t. In Game 7, he played over 45 minutes and was a +10. In those less than 3 other minutes, a -12. Why am I bringing up this sadness? Because the Sixers overcompensated by hatching a plan to steal Al Horford away from the Celtics to play power forward and backup center.

Also going on in the background was apparently a simmering feud between Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler. Simmons wanted Jimmy gone so he could handle the ball and not be relegated to the “dunker” position on offense. To make Simmons happy and open room to sign Horford, the Sixers let Jimmy Butler go to the Heat. Using his Bird rights, the Sixers resigned Harris to a maximum deal of 5/$180m.

WTF??? Tobias Harris seems like a great person and I am happy he got his money, but in no world was he ever a max player. The Sixers ended up paying him every dollar of that contract. It was so unmovable that it limited what the team could do financially for years. 5.5 years later, his career in Philadelphia would end in as fitting a way as possible, going 0-2 in 30 minutes of Game 6 against the Knicks, scoring 0 points in a 115-118 loss. $180m well spent!

Sixers Trade Deadline History: Feel the Excitement!

The whole thing was made even worse by Jimmy Butler succeeding in Miami. He went to two NBA Finals and knocked the Sixers out of the playoffs in 2022. He punctuated the win by yelling “Tobias Harris over me???” It was probably more like Al Horford over Jimmy. Speaking of which, Horford was so bad with the Sixers that it seemed like he was a sleeper agent sent by Boston to actively destroy the Sixers. Embiid especially hated him. Daryl Morey came in and had to attach a first round pick (finally due this season) in order to get rid of him and give the team some financial flexibility. He was then released and promptly signed back on with the Celtics and won a title. Fuck me. There are few athletes I hate more than Al Horford.

At the trade deadline, be careful what you wish for. The Harris trade was exciting and defensible, even if it was an overpay. How bad do we wish today that the Sixers would have just gone for it? Unfortunately, by giving up the picks and overpaying Harris, we were limited in what we could do in future years. You have to wonder how different Sixers life would be had we just kept Butler and never signed Horford or Harris. It could have made all the difference.