Butler, Redick out, Harris, Horford in
Harris and Scott returning, Horford coming from Celts
On the first day of NBA free agency, Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick left Philadelphia for Miami and New Orleans, respectively. But the 76ers kept another 3-point threat in Tobias Harris and picked up veteran big man Al Horford from the Celtics.
Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick are out. Tobias Harris and Mike Scott are back.
And joining the Sixers is Joel Embiid’s nemesis, savvy veteran big man Al Horford.
The NBA’s free agency period began Sunday at 6 p.m., and within a few hours it was clear the Sixers were not going to run it back.
We’ll start at the end.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski put out two reports within a couple of minutes of each other. First, the Sixers were finalizing a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat that would send Butler to the Heat and includes 25-year-old guard/forward Josh Richardson.
Then the Sixers, per Wojnarowski, added the 33-year-old Horford, who agreed to a four-year, $109 million deal.
Talk about a double whammy for the Celtics.
Horford averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, his third in Boston. He can also hit the occasional 3; he shot 36.0% from deep last season. But 6-foot-10 Horford also gives the Sixers another talented defender who will start alongside Embiid.
The first shoe to drop Sunday night involved Redick, who according to The Associated Press agreed to a two-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans worth about $26.5 million. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Sunday evening because new contracts cannot become official under NBA rules until Saturday.
The 35-year-old Redick has shot just better than 41 percent from 3-point range during his 13-season career season.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard out of Duke has averaged 12.9 points per game,
but his past two seasons with the Sixers have been his best as a scorer. He averaged 18.1 points this past season and was a valuable veteran leader in the locker room.
The Pelicans entered free agency in need of a proficient perimeter shooter to help spread defenses and create more space inside for top overall draft choice Zion Williamson, a 6-foot-7 power forward who also played at Duke.
While the Sixers lost Redick, they kept another 3-point threat in Harris, who is much more than that.
The Associated Press reported Harris agreed to a $180 million, five-year contract that does not include a player option.
The Sixers acquired Harris and Scott in a blockbuster trade deadline deal with the Clippers in which they surrendered a pair of future first-round picks and promising young shooter Landry Shamet.
The 19th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Harris has played for five NBA teams in his career and, in a piece written for ESPN, said he wants “to be somewhere that I can call home. Finally, I can do that now: I’m a Philadelphia 76er.”
“We’ve got unfinished business,” he wrote, “and I’m ready to commit to a long-term vision of bringing a title to Philadelphia. From the moment I arrived in Philadelphia, the city has embraced me. This is an incredible sports town, and it’s hungry for an NBA title. So are the Sixers — and so am I.”
Harris averaged 18.2 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Sixers. However, he shot only 32.6% from 3 in 27 games with the Sixers after shooting 43.4% for Los Angeles.
Scott, per The Associated Press, agreed to a two-year, $9.8 million deal. He was a valuable bench piece and averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 2018-19.