NBA Rumors: Brooklyn Nets Emerge As ‘Second-Best Landing Spot’ For Tobias Harris, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
Despite not having a legitimate NBA superstar on their roster, the Brooklyn Nets managed to exceed expectations and end their three-year playoff drought. However, the Nets won’t be content with just reaching the Eastern Conference Playoffs. In the 2019 NBA offseason, the Nets are expected to do everything they can to build a roster that can legitimately contend for the NBA championship in the 2019-20 NBA season.
The Nets will be heading into the 2019 NBA offseason loaded with enough salary cap space to chase two big names in the free agency market. With his performance in the 2018-19 NBA season, the Nets are likely to use one of their max slots to bring D’Angelo Russell back, and the other to find another superstar who can play alongside him in the 2019-20 NBA season. If the Nets fail to sign top-tier free agents like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report suggested that they could go after Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“The Nets would fill two voids with Harris, who could serve as a power forward and a scoring sidekick to either D’Angelo Russell or a second top-shelf free agent. Harris could shine in Atkinson’s three-heavy offense, both as a perimeter splasher and a shot-creator who’d benefit from the extra breathing room. But Brooklyn might not have the stoppers to cover up Harris’ deficiencies at the defensive end, and the team’s timeline could be a tick behind his own. That might sound like nitpicking, but it’s just enough to create separation between the Nets and the top team in these rankings.”
From today, my handicapping of the chances of Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler returning to the Sixers: https://t.co/T6FRkakext
— David Murphy (@ByDavidMurphy) May 15, 2019
Tobias Harris is definitely not on the level of Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, and Kyrie Irving, but he is still expected to receive plenty of interest in the 2019 NBA free agency. Buckley considers the Nets as the “second-best landing spot” for the 26-year-old power forward. Harris has relatives in Brooklyn, including his grandmother, and he knows Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson very well.
Tobias Harris would be an incredible addition to the Nets, giving them a very reliable second scoring option next to D’Angelo Russell. Harris won’t have a hard time making himself fit alongside the ball-dominant Russell since he can efficiently play in an off-ball capacity.
In the 27 regular-season games he played on the 76ers’ team that has Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Jimmy Butler, Harris still managed to post impressive numbers, averaging 18.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 46.9 percent shooting from the field, and 32.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
