USA TODAY International Edition
Brand’s 76ers swing big, acquire Harris
Trades target present, future
In his first season as a general manager, Elton Brand of the Sixers has made franchise-altering trades.
He dealt for Jimmy Butler early in the season. Wednesday, he traded for Tobias Harris.
Brand and the Sixers pushed their chips all in, for the present and the future. They want to win now, and the Sixers believe there is a financial path to resign Butler, Harris and J.J. Redick and pay Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons when the time comes to win long-term, too, a person with direct knowledge of the Sixers’ plans told USA TODAY. The person was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.
To get Harris from the Clippers, Brand had to give up a lot. Philadelphia sent the Clippers promising rookie shooting guard Landry Shamet, veterans Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala, two firstround picks and two second-round picks.
Harris, who should have been named to the All-Star team, is one of the NBA’s underappreciated stars. He averages a career-high 20.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists and is shooting career highs from the field (49.6 percent) and on three-pointers (43.4 percent). He can score from the perimeter, drive to the basket and play defense.
Harris is playing for his fifth team in eight seasons, but he’s just 26. Who knows how Sixers coach Brett Brown will incorporate Harris into the rotation, but they could start five All-Star-caliber players: Embiid and Simmons are All-Stars this season; Butler is a four-time All-Star and could have been on the team this season; and Redick is having an All-Startype season.
That’s the kind of starting five that can take a team deep into the playoffs — long and athletic with the ability to score and defend.
The Sixers are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, a game behind Indiana and Boston. The Pacers are without injured All-Star Victor Oladipo for the rest of the season, and the Celtics have been inconsistent, as contenders go, all season.
This trade gives the Sixers a chance to vault into third place or at least secure home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
Weaving Harris into the lineup might not be seamless, but Philadelphia has time to make it work. It’s working with Butler, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t work with Harris.
Give Brand this much. He didn’t play it safe, especially for a first-time GM. The Sixers’ front office works in collaboration, but Brand has the final say. He brokered this deal with minimal leaks. His front office kept information tight, and, like most trades, people don’t find out until the deal is reached.
There’s no guarantee the Sixers sign Butler and/or Harris. The goal is to keep both of them, but it is going to cost the Sixers.
Both are near-max players, looking at deals that start in the mid-$20 million range and above. That’s a lot of money tied up in Butler, Harris and Embiid for 2019-20, and Simmons is a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season.
The Sixers at some point are headed for the luxury tax, and owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer told USA TODAY in April 2018 that they are willing to do so.
“We want to bring a championship to Philly,” Harris said. “In order to do that, you need great players. That’s what you need. If great players come along and we have to go into the luxury tax, we’ll go into the luxury tax. There’s no issue with it.
“Going into the luxury tax for players who aren’t great, that’s how you get yourself in trouble.”
While signing Butler and Harris to new deals is costly, losing them for nothing in free agency after trading valuable assets is costlier.