With the Philadelphia 76ers coming off yet another conference semifinals elimination, their fourth in five seasons, one has to think changes are coming as they move forward with star duo Joel Embiid and James Harden.
With the Sixers looking for a third star to add to Embiid and Harden, one has to wonder about the future of Tobias Harris. The veteran out of Tennessee has done a wonderful job adapting to his new role as the spot-up shooter next to the star duo. And he was great on the defensive end. But he is also due to make roughly $38 million in the 2022-23 season, and the Sixers might want to look elsewhere.
A mock trade from Bleacher Report has the Sixers moving Harris to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley:
At the least, the Sixers would lengthen their rotation in this trade, as both Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley have on-court contributions they can make.
For Beasley, it’s a quantity-plus-quality outside shot that has yielded 2.5 long-balls per night and a 38.9 percent splash rate since the start of 2018-19. For Beverley, it’s his perpetually burning competitive fire, an impressive amount of defensive versatility for a 6’1″, 180-pounder and a three-point shot that has found its mark 37.8 percent of the time over the course of his career.
This is one that appeases Philadelphia’s trouble with their mental toughness. They have been known to have some bad body language, and the Sixers could use a “dawg” type of player to complement the stars.
However, the Sixers would be shipping out the clear best player in this hypothetical trade and that is not the greatest idea. Harris may make a ton of money, but he is much better than both Beasley and Beverley at this point in their careers.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
List
NBA Twitter reacts to Joel Embiid only making All-NBA second team
