Tobias Harris Wants To Play For New York Knicks
By Evan Massey
Could Tobias Harris be a legitimate option for the New York Knicks in free agency?
The Orlando Magic and forward Tobias Harris were unable to agree to a contract extension this past offseason, and it was a major disappointment for Harris. He was hoping that Orlando would be willing to give him the type of deal that he wanted, but instead they chose to give big man Nikola Vucevic the raise that he was looking to receive. Now, it appears that Harris could be interested in moving on from Orlando and taking his talents to the New York Knicks.
Harris is going to be a restricted free agent this year for the Magic, and they will have to decide whether or not they want to match other offers that are thrown his way. New York has a connection with Harris, as both Harris and Carmelo Anthony played in quite a few pickup games this past offseason and actually played very well alongside each other.
"“I’m telling you if the Knicks come at him hard, who wouldn’t want to play for their hometown team?” a Harris confidant told SNY.tv and The Knicks Blog. “They play well together,” the confidant said. “Carmelo always had him on his team when Kevin Durant came to town and they would win every game.” “Next year they’re going to have a whole different team,” the confidant said."
Needless to say, the Knicks are going to want to bring in some young talent and try to rebuild their roster with as much potential as they can find. There aren’t too many young forwards with the potential that Harris has that have connections with Anthony. He would make a lot of sense for New York depending on what type of contract it would take to lock him up.
Take a look at the numbers that Harris has put up so far this season with the Magic:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/13/2014.
There is no question that he still has plenty of room to grow as well. At just 22 years old, putting up those kind of numbers is an impressive feat. The Magic would love to lock him up long-term at the right price, but the deal that Harris wants might be a bit out of Orlando’s price range.
New York would be wise to look into signing Harris this offseason, especially as they’ll have plenty of money to pursue free agents with. Obviously the connection that Harris has with Anthony is going to be a major key if they do pursue him, and Harris’ desire to join the Knicks will also be a driving factor.
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
If he does end up signing with the Knicks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take the next step in his career immediately. He would be asked to play a big role alongside of Anthony and fill the role of second scorer that Amar’e Stoudemire has been able to fill over the last few years. The combination of strength, speed, and talent that Harris has makes him a very attractive free agent for the Knicks to pursue.
All of that being said, it will be very intriguing to see where Harris ends up in free agency. He does enjoy playing in Orlando, but they did upset him by not meeting his contract demands this offseason during negotiations. There is also a good chance that other teams will come out and pursue him as well.
Expect a very busy offseason for Harris with plenty of teams bidding on his services. New York seems like a very likely and logical landing spot though.