Does Tobias Harris Make The 76ers The Favorites In The East?

What’s better than a 3 A.M. trade splash to wake us all up? In case you missed it, Tobias Harris is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers. The full details of the trade include Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott will head to Philly. The Los Angeles Clippers will receive Landry Shamet, Philadelphia’s own 2020 protected first-round pick and an unprotected 2021 first-round pick via the Miami Heat. LA will also receive two second-round picks that were Piston Property.

The real question everyone should be wondering is whether Tobias Harris puts the 76ers over the top and into the NBA Finals? It just might. Harris is a very good player. He just might be the most underrated player in the entire league. Harris is having a career year averaging 20.7 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line. Adding a player like that just might put Philly in the Finals.

The 76ers starting five is now dangerous. Harris will join a starting five of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, J.J. Redick, and Jimmy Butler. This 76ers team is extremely long and can play real defense. You have to love the strategy behind the move. Wings win and Harris is a really good one. Worst case, he’s still a ridiculous upgrade over Robert Covington who as Chad likes to say (Fucking sucks).

At the end of the day, this deal will be judged whether the 76ers can win titles. Is that group good enough to win one? The starting five is now great. The bench, however, is not. Could Wesley Matthews help that equation after he’s bought out by the Knicks? Here’s what we do know. As of now, Vegas is not buying Philadelphia.

The 76ers odds moved up from +1600 to +1400. Vegas is acknowledging that Philly is better but not much better. They still trail the Raptors, Celtics, and Bucks. Why is that the case? At the end of the day, we still don’t if Ben Simmons is a winning player. He plays real defense. He can really pass. However, that shooting is a real liability. Until he can at least hit a mid range jumper, I’m not sure you can pick the 76ers to make a real run and Vegas seems to agree.

Aggressive wins and Philadelphia has now pulled the trigger on two major trades within the calendar year. Philadelphia is better today but how much better? We are going to find out come playoff time. Trading away four draft picks and a nice young player seems like a high price to pay if it doesn’t work out.