Tobias Harris had a down and then up season in 2021-22. But he finished strong enough to leave us wondering what his future holds.

Coming into the year, the 6-8 Stretch Four hit a host of roadblocks from the jump. He suffered a rupture in the COVID case, suffered a hip injury, then at another time, a shoulder disease. So it wasn’t the start he wanted.

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers told Harris in November that “at some point your hip is going to feel good. You’re not going to get COVID. You’re not going to get the flu, you’re going to run and hang on. And just when Tobias was starting to find his groove, the team kicked off a blockbuster trade by bringing in James Harden, one of the most dominant players in NBA history, and asked Tobias to move on. adapt.

After a heart-to-heart with Doc, Harris had to try and Morey-Ball his volley game, taking on more of a catching and shooting role offensively and reserving more energy for the defensive side of the ball:

“I think the biggest adjustment for me,” Harris admitted in late April, “is when [coach Rivers and I] In fact, sat down and talked about and had a real conversation and he told me what he plans to do and how I can do it at a very high level to help the group. And from there, I was basically at peace with it and never looked back from that time.

Harris posted a fired shooting profile with many triples rapids and closing assaults on the rim, playing an excellent basketball at the right time:

He was not quite managed to slow Jimmy Butler than Pascal Siakam, but it was a really large order and not a imperfection on his CV. The Boston Celtics had a historic defense and didn’t fare much better against Jimmy Buckets.

Butler averaged 27.5 ppg, 7.5 reb, 5.5 ast, 1.7 stl, shot 44 free throws with a .605 ts% against Philly.

And against Boston a tour later, the butler has an average of 25.6 ppg, 7 Reb, 3.4 AST, 2 STL, shot 54 free throws, with a .582 TS% in the series, while fighting against the inflammation of the knee. All of Boston’s common wing and Defensive Player of the Year finalists have done only a marginally better job than the stricken Sixers, even as Butler’s injuries showed.

Yet because the Sixers missed their championship goal badly with defenses running away with a double and triple Embiid team without being forced to pay, and because Harris still owes nearly $80 million over the next two seasons. , his position on this Philadelphia team continues to be a major question mark.

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Last week, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Investigator provided an update on this:

“The Sixers have publicly stated that they will be bringing back their core players, including Harris. However, privately the team is once again trying to see what the market is for their fourth goalscorer behind Embiid, Harden and Maxy…

The Sixers would like to acquire a third star to play alongside perennial All-Stars Embiid and Harden. A trade would also allow Harris to be more involved in a team’s game plan. He was the third or fourth option throughout his tenure. »

And the next day, Jake Fischer from Bleacher Report offered us a bit more information on this situation to watch:

By Fisher:

“The Sixers seem more than open to Harris returning next season. He’s received rave reviews from staffers for his team mentality and locker room presence, but the Sixers are exploring all options to improve their roster around Harden and Embiid, as well as rising combo guard Tyrese. Maxey.

If Harris stayed in Philadelphia, there’s an argument to be made that the future 30-year-old would be very well positioned to play in a championship environment ahead of his next contract, much like Wiggins at Golden State. But the representation of Harris said that the veteran would like more opportunities on the ball in the Sixers offensive, in particular in the action of Pick-And-Roll. »

It was easy to get lost in the thread of each play, big ticket exchanges, Harden probably opting in, etc.

But that’s a big deal, right? Pompey first implied it, then the Fischer’s update essentially confirmed: the Harris camp seems unhappy with its recent role to three and D.

Harris never appreciated the amount of offensive freedom he had with the Clippers since arriving in Philadelphia. Clearly, the Sixers had championship aspirations and a larger-than-life presence on Joel Embiid’s half-court. Harris didn’t need to play with the ball too much.

According to Stat Muse, Harris is averaging 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 172 games for the 76ers. with Joel Embiid in his career, shooting 48.3% from the field in 34.2 minutes.

And he averaged 21.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 62 games for the 76ers. without Joel Embiid in his career, shooting 49% from the field in 33.6 minutes.

He’s actually looked more comfortable offensively when Joel is out of the lineup. But this is not a glaring difference.

Here are some ball-making looks from the past playoffs:

As a pick-and-roll ball handler, Harris’ per game reg. season averages by year, per NBA.com:

• 2018-19: 5.1 possessions, 4.1 FGA, 0.99 PTS/possession, 52.2 GFE%, 87th percentile
• 2019-21: 3.3 possessions, 2.8 FGA, 0.85 pts/possession, 42.7 EFG%, 53.4 percentile
• 2020-2021: 4.4 possessions, 3.7 FGA, 0.96 pts/possession, 47.6 EFG%, 73rd percentile
• 2021-2022: 2.8 possessions, 2.4 FGA, 1.06, PTS/possession, 53.4 GFE%, 90.5 percentile

From isolation:

• 2018-19: 2.2 possessions, 1.9 FGA, 0.99 PTS/possession, 48.1% GFE, 76.5 percentile
• 2019-20: 1.9 possessions, 1.7 FGA, 0.81 PTS/possession, 38.3 GFE%, 41.3 percentile
• 2020-21: 1.5 possessions, 1.3 FGA, 1.08 PTS/possession, 57.5% GFE, 86.3 percentile
• 2021-22: 1.4, possessions 1.3 FGA, .84 pts/possession, 41.3 EFG%, 40.6 percentile

2022 Playoff pick and roll ball handler numbers

• 1.1 possessions, (13 total) 0.9 FGA, 1.08 pts/possession, 63.6 EFG%, 83.9 percentile

Can contrast with the 1.00 pts/possession of Tyrese Maxey (40 in total) and the 0.91 ppi of Harden (53 in total).

Maxey finished in the 79.6 percentile, Harden 64.3.

2022 playoff isolation plays per game

• 2021-2022 1.5 possessions, 1.3 FGA, 1.06 pts/possession, 63.3 EFG%, 73.2 percentile

Harris and Harden recorded 21 reg. season games overall, finishing a +153.

His playoff heatmap:

So, looking at the numbers, it’s not unreasonable to think that Harris might deserve more ballhandling duties. He’s not a lethal isolation player, but his percentile finishes as a pick-and-roll ball handler are definitely solid, although it’s been a smaller sample since Harden arrived and that’s the key.

The big question is: if he has more chances, who has less? Are these keys “made?” » Do you take pictures of Embiid? Do you ask Harden to spot from three? Does Tyrese Maxey sacrifice himself? Jackson Frank and I talked about what it might look like in the last ten minutes of this module. Don’t miss Jackson’s full thoughts there, but the gist was that as a secondary creator, maybe attacking wings (as opposed to the two-player high-screen, sprawl-ground game we see Harden and Joel running) or against a rotating defense, it could work in spurts. And we still wanted the Sixers to be a little more creative offensively to diversify their attack.

However, at first glance, something seems defective in all the idea of ​​principle. It was one of the best balls in Harris’s career, do we really want to spoil this?

In a simpler world, the Harden-Embiid pick-and-roll would be sped up and accentuated, with a sniper platoon as far back as possible providing space.

Harden averaged 7.6 possessions per game last game. season as a PnR ball handler, and I just don’t like the idea of ​​him having any less next season with Joel, seeing as it was one of the deadliest games in the sport.

The number (from Harden LED PNRS) actually dropped to 4.4 possessions per game during the playoffs, as the Sixers got frustrated in the stretch. (Some because of the injuries, and others because … I still have no idea.)

So if the Sixers already had an incentive to check the market temperature on Harris, and now they have the additional information, he may not be thrilled to continue in this complementary role, maybe there is. there a real chance (even if we are not in likely territory again) it is exchanged.

I don’t know if there’s a way to incentivize the Sacramento Kings to something like…

But if Harris will be here, I am not closed to the idea that he has a few more opportunities per game.

We have heard that Embiid could work on its scope game this dead season. And his skills trainer, Drew Hanlen, basically confirmed that. So maybe there will be more chances for Harris to create with a spread floor. Maybe they can also present it a little more in the minutes not embedid. Basically, I am open to that, as long as it works and it is effective and it does not hold anyone else. In fact, the idea that Embiid delegates the offensive workload more could be a good thing. Using Embiid as a decoy during the year could really save some of his energy for defense and stretch running. (And I wouldn’t mind if both Embiid and Harden were on conservative load-management schemes next season, in which case there could be tons of pick-and-rolls available to run.)

Either way, it’s an unexpected wrinkle and you wonder if or how it might play into possible trade negotiations. Chances are Harris will be there before the season opener. And who knows, maybe showcasing some of its pick-and-roll chops boosts its market value by Christmas anyway. Or maybe he’s making himself invaluable to this club by achieving another gear and making his first All-Star team.