The Sixers' front office has undoubtedly its busiest 48-plus hours ahead of it, with last-ditch efforts to trade for James Harden and get Ben Simmons out the door occupying 90% of their waking hours and minutes.
But there will still be other, non-Simmons phone calls placed and received before Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline - and apparently some of those calls are about a different max player on the Sixers' roster.
ESPN insider Brian Windhorst is reporting Tuesday morning that the Sixers are calling teams around the league to try and figure out if they'd be able to move Tobias Harris' contract before the deadline, likely in an attempt to clear cap space for Harden this upcoming summer.
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Here's the exact report from Windhorst:
"The Sixers and Nets have proceeded with other trade calls in recent days, sources say. The Nets, for their part, are looking to see if there is a market for injured guard Joe Harris, while the Sixers are looking for a way to move Tobias Harris -- potentially to clear cap space in the summer to sign Harden outright."
Windy goes on to clarify that these phone calls could be genuine attempts at moving Harris, who has underwhelmed this season after a borderline All-Star 2020-21 campaign and is pricey... or they could be negotiating tactics in the hopes of forcing the Nets' hand in Harden discussions before Thursday afternoon.
NBA
If the Sixers are willing to move Harris now to clear room for a move they'll make in five months, that'd be some pretty strong certainty on Morey's part that Harden is coming to Philly in the summer - which could put fear in Brooklyn GM Sean Marks' heart and spur a deadline move.
Maybe. We'll see.
This is of course not the first time Harris' name has popped up in trade rumors this winter, but initially he was as an addendum to a Ben Simmons trade in conversations with both the Hawks and the Kings. Only Sacramento was reportedly receptive to the idea, but the Kings have apparently been reticent to continue Simmons talks in the last week or so and it sounds like that scenario is done.
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The buzz about a possible Harris-only trade started flying on Monday, though it seemed more speculative then than it does now when Bleacher Report insider Jake Fischer pondered the idea of the Sixers looking at Oklahoma City's incredible cap space number as a Harris destination.
What might a Thunder trade look like for the Sixers?
Good question!
They'd be looking to limit the incoming money while sending draft picks to the Thunder, who will eventually select an entire draft class with their ridiculous war chest of picks.
Oklahoma City would probably be willing to part with veterans, like center Derrick Favors, and even if the Sixers have little to no interest in Favors joining their roster this is a prime opportunity to move off of Harris's deal so you'd at least consider it. Morey would probably look for another team to absorb the return from the Thunder so he can have as much financial flexibility as possible this summer.
In any case, this is going to be a fascinating few days before everything explodes Thursday. Should be fun.