NBA news: Woj explains why Clippers suddenly traded Tobias Harris to Sixers

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ers struck a surprising big trade on Tuesday night involving emerging forward Tobias Harris.

The Clippers sent Harris along with Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the 76ers. In return, Los Angeles received a decent haul, as they acquired rookie guard Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Philadelphia's 2020 first-round pick, and an unprotected 2021 first-round pick from the Miami Heat.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Clippers opted to move Harris because they might lose him for nothing in free agency this summer. The 26-year-old forward will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Woj said that it will be difficult for the Clippers to keep him in Los Angeles.

Tobias Harris could be moving toward a maximum-level contract in free agency this summer, something that would've been difficult for Clippers to do with their own free agency aspirations.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2019

Harris is averaging 20.9 points on top of 7.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season. Wojnarowski added that the eight-year veteran will command a maximum-level contract in the offseason, likely because of his improvement over the past two seasons.

In a report on ESPN, Woj also pointed out that the deal placed the Clippers in contention to trade for players who want to move to a big market like Los Angeles. The popular NBA insider clarified, though, that the deal was not made specifically to chase New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis, who recently requested for a trade.

On the other hand, the huge trade put the 76ers in a good position to win the Eastern Conference this season. It was their second big move this season after also acquiring Jimmy Butler in a trade earlier in the season, teaming them up with resident stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Butler and Harris will both become free agents after this season. However, the 76ers are reportedly determined to sign both stars to contract extension to keep their four-star core in years to come.