PHILADELPHIA _ The 76ers are Tobias Harris' team _ off the court.
Now, he and the Sixers need to find a way to make it more of his team on it.
Harris re-signed for five years and a franchise-record $180 million in July, making him the Sixers' key offseason move. They will need a big year from the 6-foot-9 forward if they expect to make an NBA Finals run.
Coach Brett Brown says center Joel Embiid is the Sixers' go-to guy down the stretch. While the two-time All-Star is undoubtedly the team's best player, it's tough to always go to him in clutch situations. That's because everything _ from his positioning, to the entry pass, and everything in between _ has to go mostly right.
With a perimeter player, all a team has to do is inbound him the ball and spread the floor. Jimmy Butler, who was traded to the Miami Heat this offseason, held that role for the Sixers last season.
Now, it's Harris' turn.
He thrived as the go-to guy with the Los Angeles Clippers before becoming the headliner of a multi-player trade with the Sixers in February. Harris had career highs in scoring average (20.9 points) and 3-point percentage (43.4 percent) in his 55 games played with the Clippers last season. He was snubbed for an All-Star berth.
He did that work at small forward, a position he'll move back to after being the Sixers' power forward following the trade. Although when Embiid doesn't play, Harris will probably slide back to power forward, and Al Horford will move to center.
Because Harris is comfortable at both forward positions, he's fine with playing in the flow of the game instead of dominating the ball.
