Welcome to a little series we do here at Burds of a Feather called My Worst Sports Take, where I interview my friends on their controversial sports takes. My Worst Sports Take is sponsored by my cats, who are currently spitting up on one of my nice carpets.
The city of Philadelphia is quick to make enemies. It’s in our nature. Outside of fans of opposing sports teams, people who are weird about Jalen Hurts, and being a member of the 2026 Philadelphia Phillies, the easiest way to become an enemy of the city is to be an underperforming contributor to one of our sports teams. Namely, a player whose effort comes and goes in the moments when their team needs them the most. We’re a blue-collar town who wants our athletes to care about the game as much as we do.
Unfortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers have a few of those players in the shadowy past of The Process. As we celebrate a seismic offseason for the Sixers, we also remember the broken road that got us here. And namely, one of the players at the center of it: Tobias Harris.
Despite being a pretty nice guy, the 6’ 8” small forward who made a lot of money rarely played like it. After the Sixers lost that fateful 2nd round series against eventual NBA Champion Toronto Raptors due to four fateful bounces that ripped my heart out of me chest, Tobias was one of the core players left standing. Along with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, Harris was supposed to be a building block for the Sixers to continue their success from the 2018-2019 season. But in the years that followed, frustrating play and an inability to live up to his billing as a max player capable of elevating the team made Harris one of the most disliked figures in Philadelphia sports.
But is Tobias Harris really a villain? My homie Keenan Willis argues that maybe he isn’t. Keenan is a basketball lover, one of the genuinely smartest people I know, and the certified ball knower behind the Stretch Four Podcast, which he hosts along side Aaron Hertzog (required listening for all Sixers fans). Keenan tells me why he thinks Tobias Harris isn’t the villain, why the 2019-2020 Sixers would win in a street fight, and why Tobias Harris is one of the best in the business at getting the bag.
Keenan: Let me paint a picture for you, Jeremy. You tell me what you would do in this scenario. You are at work, and you do your job well. You might not necessarily be a star at your company, but you do your job well. You fill an important role.
You’re explaining my career right now. So this is perfect.
Keenan: And then ownership comes up to you and says, “Hey, we love what you’re doing. You’re an important part of this team. You could be part of something. And so we want to give you just the most money we possibly could because we like you and we kind of have to spend this money right now. Would you say no? I wouldn’t say no. And Tobias Harris didn’t say no.
I mean, I think that’s a good point. What player would say no to that situation?
Keenan: Not many. In fact, I would argue that is why this LeBron offseason was so strange, because it’s very rare that you have a player that could command a lot more money who says, “Ah, you know what? No, I’m good. I’m just going to do this for the love of the game.”
And like, put yourself in Tobias’s situation. His dad is acting as his agent. He’s trying to hook up his family with as much money as possible. You only have so many contracts in the NBA, if you’re lucky. There are only so many opportunities to really cash in. So you’ve got to maximize those situations.
That’s fair.
Unlike LeBron, most people aren’t playing 24 years in the league. They get a couple of opportunities. So if the Sixers come around and say, “Hey, I want to give you a max deal.” You might in your mind be like, “I’m not really a max player.” But you’re going to take that max contract because why wouldn’t you? You’re setting up your family for lifelong success.
Tobias Harris is not the problem. The contract is absolutely the problem. The leadership making that decision is absolutely the problem. But it’s not really Tobias’ fault. Because if you swap out the expectation of a max deal and tell me that you got a guy that’s going to give you, I don’t know, like 17 and 7 and play serviceable, if not slightly plus defense, I’ll take that every time. At a position of need, doesn’t need the ball, finds ways to be impactful. I’ll take that every time.
What you’re saying is that LeBron is doing the reverse Tobias Harris.
Keenan: The anti-Tobias.
That makes a lot of sense. What do you think is the ceiling for a player like Tobias?
Keenan: The fourth-best player on a championship team. Not the worst starter on a championship team, but a starter on a championship team for sure. Like he’s Toni Kukoč. That’s his role. It was important. He could score if you need him to.
Actually, that might be mean to Toni Kukoč because he could score a little more. But you know what I mean. No one’s mad at Harrison Barnes on those Warriors teams, but he played a very important role and got paid off of that important role.
Is he better than Harrison Barnes?
Keenan: Yes, because Harrison Barnes was in a perfect situation. Harrison Barnes wasn’t really relevant before or after. Tobias was a borderline All-Star before he got to Philly. In fact, that’s how he got to Philly. I haven’t seen Harrison Barnes do that.
I think Tobias is a guy that, if he’s your best player, your team’s probably not going to be that good. But he could be your team’s best player. He has that skill set. And like in San Antonio, now that he’s there, I think he’s going to thrive. He’s kind of exactly what that team needs. He provides you with a steady hand. He’s like a great guy in the locker room.
Good culture fit.
Keenan: Great culture fit.
So how did the Sixers get that evaluation so wrong? Especially after a season where they lost in dramatic fashion to the Raptors and chose to re-sign him out of that crop of stars (Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick, etc.).
Keenan: So I think it’s more complex than just the Sixers. The problem is the NBA salary cap. It’s not so much your value as a player; it’s your value relative to your team. Like, you just have slots now. Players aren’t really paid their value. They’re paid their ranking on your team.
And so at that point, Tobias was arguably our best available option. I know Jimmy Butler famously was like, “You picked Tobias Harris over me.” But that wasn’t really what happened. So we got stuck in a position where it was like, well now you have to spend this money. You can’t lose everyone.
Jimmy made it clear that he didn’t know who was in charge here, which is very accurate. And this was at a point where Brett Brown was coaching, but he was like sort of the GM, but then like Elton was sort of in charge, so no one really knew what was happening. And so Jimmy was like, “This is too messy. I’m out of here.”
And then that leaves you with, well, we can’t lose Jimmy and Tobias, and we have a max slot available. You’ve got to fill it. And yes, we could have let Tobias walk. But at that point, who are you signing? This is, what, the 2019-2020 NBA offseason? I don’t know who you’re signing at that point that fits a need.
I mean, you weren’t going to sign Kyrie. You had Ben Simmons. You were committed to him. Kawhi made it clear he was trying to go to LA. So beyond that, who were you really signing? Kevin Durant decided he wanted to have his own team at that point. And then you’re talking about Kemba, Khris Middleton. These are your next best options. That’s why we ended up with Al Horford.
Do you feel like in addition to being an NBA salary cap issue, this was also an ownership issue?
Keenan: Oh, for sure. Because if you have a good franchise in place, Jimmy probably doesn’t walk or force his way out, I should say. And then you get to keep Jimmy Butler. So yeah, it’s definitely a fault on the Sixers culture. There were a lot of problems. I mean, you know, you had a GM that had burners, right?
(Laughs)
Keenan: To defend himself against criticism. That’s crazy. You can only get away with that if you’re an NBA Hall of Famer, which Bryan Colangelo is not.
Really bold move and really not understanding how the internet works.
Keenan: Also, if you’re going to do that, don’t defend your collars. It’s pretty clear that, oh, that’s you. You can talk about the decisions that he made. There’s no Bryan Colangelo fan who’s like “leave his collars alone.” Of course it’s you.
Can I read you the 2019-2020 Philadelphia 76ers roster?
Keenan: Please. I want to see how much PTSD you get.
There’s Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Seth Curry, Joel Embiid, of course. Josh Richardson, James Ennis, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, Furkan Korkmaz, Shake Milton, Raul Neto, Kyle O’Quinn, Norvel Pelle, Mike Scott, Ben Simmons, the ghost of Zhaire Smith, and Matisse Thybulle.
Keenan: I’ll tell you what, man, that’s a back alley team. Like, they might not win a lot of games, but I’ll take that team in a fight.
If this is like Street Fighter and you’re doing like a two-on-two fighting situation, who are you taking out of this?
Keenan: I’m taking Lot K, Mike Scott.
Gotta take Mike Scott.
Keenan: And...that’s a good question. I want to take Kyle O’Quinn, but he might be too happy. There’s part of me that wants to take Jo, but then Jo might get hurt. You know what, Ben Simmons.
You think so?
Keenan: Quiet as it’s kept, people forget. Remember when Joel had that little scrap with KAT, and Ben was the one that came in, and I think he had KAT in the headlock at one point. He’s Australian, you know. He’s got a little mean streak to him.
I think Mike Scott and Ben Simmons could do some damage. James Ennis kind of seemed like a wild bol too, but I don’t know.
Keenan: James Ennis might be crazy. You know Norvel Pelle also could have been a little crazy.
So the 2019-2020 Sixers are the All-Fight Club Team in recent Sixers history.
Keenan: They may not play deep into the summer, but I’ll take them to SummerSlam.
Do you feel the fan perception of Tobias Harris was driven by his salary? Or do you feel like sometimes Tobias is at fault?
Keenan: Oh no, it’s 1000% both. Because there were moments, namely his last game as a Sixer, where you’re like, you’re going out with a whimper. But I think a lot of it was just the expectation that we put on him.
I’m looking forward to next season. If the Sixers have a bad game, you know, the starters are not having their greatest performance, I don’t think people are going to be mad at VJ (Edgecombe). You know? But if VJ was on a max contract, then people would probably be mad at VJ. You’re not living up to that money.
So a lot of it is the contract, but also there were absolutely times when Tobias would just not show up. I mean, I think he only took a handful of charges over the time he was here. One, that’s such a Philly thing to focus on. But on the same token, you put yourself in good defensive position, you’re going to run into a couple of charges. It just seems like he was never really trying as hard as he could have when you wanted him to.
Wait, I had no idea about that.
Keenan: Yes, he famously drew ZERO offensive charges through 378 games. That’s over 12,400 minutes.
That’s insane. Zero? He couldn’t even get one?
Keenan: No. That’s half a decade. He spent half a decade pretty much playing every game because he was a pretty durable guy. That’s another valuable quality. Tobias was going to play. Sometimes to your dismay, he was going to be available.
Unbelievable.
Keenan: It’s really fascinating. Especially when the stat is literally someone just running into you. Tobias Harris, all-time bag getter. He’s a top 25 most-paid NBA athlete.
What? Really?
Keenan: Per year, he’s #22. Just behind Jokic and just above Klay Thompson.
This begs the question: Who would you give the Tobias Harris Award for Bag Getting?
Keenan: (Immediately) Bradley Beal, 1000%.
Is he in the top 25?
Keenan: He’s 13th.
Oh, my God.
Keenan: Brad Beal sits between Kyrie and Giannis at almost $343 million career.
You almost can’t be mad at it, you know?
Keenan: Tobias Harris could have been Bradley Beal. This is my point. Bradley Beal was just the best player on a bad team. But he was never going to be that guy. John Wall was there, and it was like, “Oh, you’re kind of fun, I guess. You’re coming up.” And then John Wall was out. So it’s like, alright, well, somebody’s got to shoot. So Brad Beal, here you go. Here’s the keys. Here’s a lifetime green light. We have to put up points.
I love the analysis of Bradley Beal’s career as “well, somebody’s got to shoot.”
Keenan: That’s really it. You look at his numbers. He’s never been efficient. It’s just like, yeah, he’s a pure volume scorer. Give him enough shots. Sure. He’s going to give me 25.
So really we should be calling this the Bradley Beal Award for Bag Getting.
Keenan: Yes. I would argue Tobias has provided more value.
Wow. Than Bradley Beal?
Keenan: Than Bradley Beal. Because if you don’t have Bradley Beal, if you’re Washington, you maybe lose a few more games. And you might be out of your hole a little faster. Somebody else I would throw in that conversation is Zach LaVine.
Zach LaVine is an all-time bag getter.
Keenan: But Zach LaVine, at least early in his career, sells you tickets because he’s winning dunk contests. But he’s never contributed to winning. I’m fairly certain if you look at his career on-off numbers, his team is better with him off the floor than they are with him on the floor. So like... you know, it’s tough to say he contributes to winning, but he’ll sell tickets.
It’s kind of like a tale as old as time with, like, player evaluation, where you’re like, player A is in a bad situation. We bring him to this new situation, and he’s, you know, maybe he’s going to be even more efficient. Does that ever work out?
Keenan: Probably not. I mean, Tobias maybe, because his value wasn’t just scoring. Like Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal, if they’re not taking 25, 28 shots a game, they’re not really doing much for you. There was a point where Zach LaVine was like a plus defender, but then he got hurt a bunch of times, and now he’s a fine defender, I guess.
Tobias can at least do other things that contribute to winning. He doesn’t always do them. But he can. So, again, if you are not relying on Tobias to be an important factor, then he’s a great player to have. But if you need him to play well to win, you’re going to be disappointed.
Yeah.
Keenan: I think you can put Tobias in a good situation. I think San Antonio is a great situation for him where he can just be a 3-and-D guy and be like a veteran leader. He can be a steadying force for them. But if you sent him to Minnesota. That’s not going to do it. He would just be like a worse Julius Randall.
A worse Julius Randall? That is nightmare fuel.
Keenan: I guess it was one game with Tobias where I was like, “I’m glad we had Tobias tonight.” He had that one game-winner on the road at the Lakers. That’s all I got for him. It was a lovely moment. And I was never expecting it again.
My favorite thing about this conversation is how fair you’re being to Tobias Harris, but also the pure resentment that I can hear in your voice. You’re being very fair, but you’re slowly but surely going back to the time when Tobias Harris was on the Sixers and thinking, “ugh, that fucking guy.”
Keenan: It wasn’t his fault, but at the end of the day it didn’t make it any less frustrating that it wasn’t entirely his fault.
What do you think was the most frustrating part of his game when he was on the Sixers?
Keenan: Passing up open shots. It’s just like, dog, you’re only here to shoot jump shots when you’re open. Or like, just take an easy drive to the basket. He’s what, 6’8”? 6’9” maybe? Just go to the cup. Get fouled. Do something.
My goal in this conversation is also to get you to the point where you convince yourself of the other side. Where you’re like, “Maybe it was his fucking fault. You know what, I change my take.”
Keenan: The situation wasn’t his fault, but he did not do himself any favors.
He did not do himself any favors at all.
Keenan: I didn’t have much animosity towards post-Sixer Tobias until he started talking shit about the Sixers. And he was like, " Enjoy the play-in.” And I was like, “Who do you think you are?”
It’s also like, you made so much money. What do you have to be mad about?
Keenan: Why are you mad at us? Because we expected you to play well? When we were giving you $183 million!?
How much do you think fans should care about how much these guys are being paid, and how much of a role does it play in how we perceive a lot of these players?
Keenan: That’s a good question. I think it plays a huge role, but it shouldn’t necessarily dictate how hard we are on them. As long as they are giving max effort. I think that’s the thing. When Tobias was frustrating were the moments where it seemed like it wasn’t his max effort, or maybe he was shying away from the moment. I can live if you take a shot that’s in the flow of the offense and miss. I’ll live and die with that, you know. But it’s when you don’t take that, and then end up taking a worse shot, and I’m like, alright, well you’re getting paid all this money, so at least take that shot.
If you’re looking at a sport like baseball, it doesn’t matter until the salary cap comes in two years. Who cares? It’s not my money. You’re not stopping anyone else from making any money, theoretically. It’s only the budget of your owner.
But in the NBA, if I wasn’t paying Tobias Harris, could I be paying two people? Could I be paying a competent backup point guard and someone that would be giving Tobias Harris-esque numbers? Probably. So yeah, then you get a little more frustrated because it’s like opportunity costs.
But yeah, I think for me, it comes down to effort. You’re not necessarily going to always live up to a max contract in performance, but you can live up to a max contract in effort.
Where do you think giving Tobias Harris a max contract ranks in terms of worst decisions the Sixers have made?
Keenan: Oh God, it’s not even top 10. Which is the crazy part. And maybe it’s 10.
Maybe it’s 10.
Keenan: Maybe it’s 10, but there are plenty of worse things that we did. And that’s the beauty and the tragedy of The Process. We had such a unique opportunity where we openly said the quiet part out loud and were like, we are actively going to suck in an effort to get stars. And we kept that mantra throughout and just made so many poor decisions on the way to doing that.
Like taking a center three times in a row in the draft. Sure you did hit on one of them. That was good. But like hiring a guy that, you know, maybe could be a head coach. Brett Brown was fun, but like we probably hung around and hung on to Brett Brown a little too long.
It’s almost incredible that we’re at the point where LeBron James wanted to come and play on this team. It’s kind of like a miracle.
Keenan: It’s fascinating.
Who do you think is more hated in Philadelphia sports, Tobias Harris or Daryl Morey?
Keenan: I think it’s got to be Tobi, unfortunately. I don’t know, though. That’s a good question. Like, for me, it’s hard. You’ve got to really screw up to be more hated as an executive than a player because there’s only so much you can do as an executive. But Tobias was at least like a good dude, at least until he left and was like talking shit about us.
And Daryl Morey is a liar (laughs), you know?