Philadelphia 76ers: 5 reasons to be excited for 2019-20 NBA season

4. Tobias Harris’ new role

When the Philadelphia 76ers traded for Tobias Harris last winter, it was not only a hedge against Jimmy Butler‘s exodus, but also an attempt to get another three-level scorer to complement Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

With Butler and J.J. Redick now gone, Harris is in line for an expanded role.

A staple of Philly’s offense last season was the Redick-Embiid partnership. Redick’s threat as a shooter forced his man to play him tight and Embiid’s monstrous frame was difficult to navigate when he screened. Those two generated quite a few points off of simple dribble hand-offs.

Harris is qualified to take some of those touches. Since the start of 2014-15, Harris has shot 37.7 percent overall from 3, well above the league average over that time (35.6 percent). He’s also sniped 39.5 percent of  catch-and-shoot treys over the past two seasons.

In addition he’s a better ball handler than Redick, meaning that he can create off an Embiid screen much better, opening up the offense a little more.

Harris is no slouch in an on-ball role either. He’s become progressively better as a scorer over the course of his career, ranking in the 76.5th percentile in isolation last season (1.9 iso possessions per game).

The Sixers will ask him to be a primary source of offense quite a bit, especially if Simmons still isn’t respected as a shooter.

Speaking of Simmons, Tobias’ promotion in Philly’s hierarchy could give the Fresh Prince new toys to play with as well. A Harris-Simmons pick-and-roll could be deadly; Ben off the roll could be akin to Draymond Green‘s short roll playmaking with Golden State.

Tobias isn’t Stephen Curry, but he’s a damned good shooter.

Being a more featured part of the offense should do wonders for Harris. Brett Brown did his best to integrate Harris after the trade deadline, but ultimately he became an overqualified stretch four when the going got tough.

Butler may have been better for the specific instances in which Philly needed him, but Harris had a central role on a very good Clippers team last season before the trade.

If he can tap into what resulted in a career year in Los Angeles (and ultimately a near-max contract with Philly), he’ll be worth every penny.