The most out-of-nowhere big deal of the 2019 NBA trade deadline came between the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. L.A. sent borderline All-Star and free-agent-to-be Tobias Harris to Philly in a package that netted them two first-round draft picks, including an unprotected 2021 pick via the Heat.
The full details:
76ERS GET: Tobias Harris, Mike Scott, Boban Marjanovic
CLIPPERS GET: Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet, Philly’s 2020 1st-round pick (protected), Miami’s 2021 1st-round pick (unprotected), Philly’s 2021 2nd-round pick, Detroit’s 2023 2nd-round pick
Wow . What a bold trade by both teams.
The Clippers are in eighth place in the deep West, so trading their best player for what essentially amounts to two future picks and a prospect is quite atypical. It signals the team’s desire to chase big-name free agents this summer, though the deal does not actually clear any additional long-term salary. It does, however, avoid a tricky dilemma with Harris’ future and secures two prime draft assets that could be used to add more young talent ... or they could be packaged to trade for another star. Hello, Anthony Davis?
The 76ers, meanwhile, have pushed nearly all of their Process chips to the table and now have a juggernaut on paper. A starting lineup of Harris, the recently acquired Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and J.J. Redick looks imposing, and Philly can use the buyout market to replenish the depth lost in their two massive midseason deals. But keeping that quintet together — if they even mesh as expected down the stretch, which is an open question — is about to become incredibly expensive, since three of the five are free agents this summer. Is this the best payoff The Process could have sprouted? Was now the right time to go for it?
Scroll down for all the latest analysis on the deal, as well as some previous news items that helped set this trade in motion. For more local coverage, check out 76ers site Liberty Ballers and Clippers site Clips Nation.
8 reasons why the 76ers are going all-in right now
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsThe 76ers traded for Tobias Harris early Wednesday morning, signaling to the rest of the Eastern Conference that they’re not here to mess around. Philly’s here to win, and they want to win now.
This began when the Sixers traded two important role players for Jimmy Butler earlier this season. Now, they’ve pushed all their chips in trading for Harris. That’s two big-name borderline all-stars who are set to hit free agency in July.
Read Article >The best part of the Sixers-Clippers trade was Bobi and Tobi staying together
Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanović are the NBA’s best odd couple, and getting traded together to Philadelphia is too perfect to quantify in words.
The pair became fast friends when they met in Detroit 2016 and have been inexorably linked ever since. It wasn’t long before videos started popping up on their Instagram pages teasing the union of Bobi & Tobi, and things haven’t been the same. They are delightful unicorns, bonded together through teamwork, friendship, and circumstance to form something beautiful.
Read Article >The Clippers’ version of the Process is something to behold
The Los Angeles Clippers are doing something amazing right now.
LA sits in the No. 8 spot in the tough, deep Western Conference. On Tuesday evening, the Clippers’ best player, Tobias Harris, hit the game-winner with three seconds left to lift LA over the Hornets. Harris is 26 years old and a free agent this summer. He fits extraordinarily well in the Clippers’ egalitarian system, and has thrived under Doc Rivers.
Read Article >The Clippers’ obvious interest in Kawhi Leonard, explained
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty ImagesKawhi Leonard has been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers since the summer, when his trade request from the San Antonio Spurs became public. Originally, he was thought to have wanted to play for the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. But that changed when LeBron James signed with Magic Johnson’s team in the weeks following, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
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