Returning veteran forward Tobias Harris is entering a different Philadelphia 76ers team next season, with the departure of four-time All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler changing things up to start.
Harris re-signed with the Philadelphia franchise to the tune of five years and $180 million. Despite never making an All-Star Game, the Sixers believed Harris was too valuable to let go.
That doesn't mean everything is sunny in Philadelphia, however, with the eight-year forward venting his feelings on last season and the playoffs, when the Sixers were eliminated in seven games by the eventual champion Toronto Raptors in the second round.
“I was definitely underutilized,” Harris told Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The 27-year-old went on to say that last season saw Philly still getting acquainted with one another, with Butler's arrival early in the season from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Harris arriving at the deadline resulting in the “newness” of the team and a tough juggling act for head coach Brett Brown.
The Sixers traded for the Long Island native in February of this year in a big-time deal that saw the expiring contract of Harris along with Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott arrive in Philly for Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala, Wilson Chandler, and multiple draft picks. Heading into the offseason, it was unclear whether the Sixers would keep Harris, Butler, both, or neither.
However, Harris will be getting acquainted with new teammates Al Horford, who the Sixers signed in free agency, and Josh Richardson, the 25-year-old wing acquired in the Butler sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat.
Despite feeling underutilized by Philly, Harris will again have to play alongside tenacious competitors on a team with title aspirations, though Brown is already promising a bigger opportunity.
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