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Report: Celtics a front-runner for Tobias Harris

John - Red's Army (@RedsArmy_John) June 26, 2015 Free Agency 24 Comments

You might remember Tobias Harris from one of his multiple thrashings of the Celtics this past season. The worst was his 21 point, 4 rebound, 2 steal performance in huge second half comeback in March.

Well, the Celtics may be taking a page from the Patriots in pursuing players that have burned them in the past as they reportedly pursue Harris in (restricted) free agency

As Orlando restricted free agent Tobias Harris will pursue a maximum-level offer sheet on July 1 that the Magic possibly won’t match, the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics have emerged as leading candidates for the talented forward, league sources told RealGM.

Harris, 22, is among the top young players on the available market, and could be the most vulnerable restricted free agent to leave his team. Around the NBA, several teams are believed to be open to preparing a near-max contract for Harris — which could approach $15 million-plus per season, an area the Magic likely elect not to match given the course of extension talks last October and their current team salary structure.

Here’s the thing you have to keep in mind when pursuing restricted free agents… throw their actual value out the window. Teams will match actual value. They won’t match over-paying for him. Harris is young and improving. He can play more than one position, which is increasingly important nowadays. His 3-point shooting improved from 25.4% to 36.4% last year, even as he took twice as many threes, which is very encouraging.

Orlando, of course, could decide that he’s already too good to pass up. Both teams have enough money to offer and match. If the Celtics want him badly enough, they’ll have to pony up enough dough to make Orlando blink. And when you consider (a) the amount of offers coming in and (b) the fact that making a restricted free agent an offer ties up that cap space for the three days the other team has to decide whether to match, the Celtics had better really want him. They can’t risk missing on the rapid-fire commitments made in the first week of free agency because they suddenly don’t have cap space for 3 days.

bill_nair

I remember him having an incredibly hard time staying in front of Evan Turner.

Keep kicking me while im down Danny.
- MadLad
  
  evan turner may be an easy punchline in a joke, but reality is he got the rim vs anyone last year. give the guy his props. hes not sexy, but he is effective.
  - bill_nair
    
    Its not a knock on Evan, just the guy who was in front of him.
- Sean McLaughlin
  
  Yeah, I’m puzzled as to how he garners a max contract. He’s good, don’t get me wrong. And has promise. But I never thought he was quite “there” yet…
  - bill_nair
    
    An AB/Jeff Green caliber player. Hes a 3/4 with an average (closer to below average) handle whose offense is best suited for spot up 3’s and post ups. Does that not sound like Green to a tee? Greens at least not a sieve on defense.
    
    Hes good but doesn’t swing the needle much either way. I’ve put stats out there on other sites that show just how close he is to those 2. After watching C’s fan crap on those 2 for the past 5 years I cant believe they’re so quick to offer a similar caliber player the max. Ridiculous.
    - Sean McLaughlin
      
      Agree totally….
Rick Rice

Is he a guard?
MadLad

This guy is nice. can bang down low, can shoot the 3, can guard almost anyone. Its hard in this position to get a FA who is also a game changer. It requires lots of scouting and certainly a leap of faith. But I like what Harris brings. Reality is this…if we want a good young FA, Ainge is going to have to “lead the target” and grab someone not for what they are, but where their headed. And I like where Harris career is headed. I just hope its in Green.
- bill_nair
  
  Harris surely cant guard “almost anyone”.
  - MadLad
    
    sure. almost.
- Frank Aziza
  
  I agree. I like him or Middleton from the Bucks. Let’s go steal the free agents that we think will be big time max players in two years when they’re 25-26 years old. Go for the guys that aren’t household names but have a chance to be. While everyone is fighting over Love and Alridge I would look for young upcoming future stars.
Michael Merriam

i’ve been clamoring for Harris over the past year. I don’t know about $15mil, but $13mil is within reason. What’s an extra $2mil come 2016-17? Oddly, not much.

He’s clutch, fiery, hungry, and proven. His persistent ankle injuries concern me a bit, but you never know about all that stuff. Could have been Orlando holding down his market value, or him being cautious with a big payday on the horizon.
- Richard Jensen
  
  Curry spent a year dealing w/ankle issues….. just sayin’
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Micah Sharon

Id like to see the Celtics go after the 2nd tier free agents while the rest of the NBA is trying to sign the “max” free agents…. Since the Bucks are going to offer max money to Brook Lopez, how about the Celtics offer Khris Middleton a 4 year 42 million dollar deal…. he’s a 3 and D guy the Celtics need and is a better defender than Tobias Harris…. Then the Celtics need to overpay a little to add a legit rim protector, so how about they sign Tyson Chandler to a 3 year 39ish million dollar deal and then resign Jerekbo and Jae Crowder to bring back the bench core that was the best in basketball last year….. Then to add a guy that can score how about the Celtics look at DeMar Derozan… the Raptors are looking like they might start trading their core, so how about offer Pressey, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley and a protected first round pick for DeMar Derozan to unclog the backcourt and pf position a little.

Now the Celtics would have:
PG: Smart, Thomas, Rozier, Thornton
SG: DeRozan, Hunter, Young
SF: Middleton, Crowder, Turner
PF: Olynyk, Jerekbo, Mickey
C: Chandler, Zeller

Then the Celtics could still trade a wing player as well as let Thornton play overseas and add another big guy or two…..
art

Not sure why this guy deserves max money. Maybe if he proves himself over a longer time period. Otherwise, no thanks. A high-talent center or power forward with strong rebounding and shot blocking skills is a much higher priority than this.
art

I would like to mention the Isaiah Thomas deal once more. What did it really buy the Green? Here it is: a first round playoff sweep, a lost opportunity to draft Winslow without all the pain of trying and failing to make a deal during draft night, and a pint-sized 5 feet nine inch point guard who is offensively skilled but is a king-sized defensive liability. I say the deal wasn’t worth it and Danny should have taken his chances and waited until the off-season if he wanted Thomas that much.
- Banner18
  
  Hindsight is 20-20. Nobody thought Winslow would slip to #10 at this time last week, let alone in February. Winslow’s draft fall story is similar to Paul Pierce, but he could just as easily become a Stacey Augmon type role player than an all-star. Thomas is already a Nick Van Exel/Andrew Toney type instant offense guard entering his prime on a reasonable (and if need be tradeable) contract who is a great teammate and potential FA recruiter. When the deal was made Danny probably expected us to fall from the 8-10 range to the 11-13 range but still miss the playoffs. We’d have been in prime position for Stanley Johnson, Cauley-Stein, Oubre or Turner still and if we fell in love with a guy projected to go 6-9 then it shouldn’t have taken more than 1-2 future 1st rd picks and/or Sully to get into that spot. Who knew the team would overachieve by playing at a 50 win pace after getting Thomas or that GM’s on teams like Charlotte/Detroit would dig in their heels and idiotically turn down huge trade-up offers? Nah, you still do this deal again if you are Ainge. It isn’t Billups for Kenny Anderson or Joe Johnson for Delk/Rogers.
  - art
    
    This is not a matter of hindsight. A lot of us knew at the time that the Thomas deal meant draft position trouble. Even Danny had the thoughts but decided to pull the trigger anyways. When you’re seeking a franchise player, it cannot be wise to sacrifice that possibility in the draft by obtaining a 5 ft. 9 role player, Thomas, who helps propel you out of the lottery. The Fakers and Miami were wise and both got the stars. They both made Danny and the C’s organization look bad.
    - Banner18
      
      You are welcome to that opinion. If you felt that way in February than good for you. If you felt Winslow would slip to 10 than you are a liar. Danny did mull it over but made the deal and I think most of us would have done the same. He was thinking of the low odds we’d have to land top 3 if we ended up picking 8-10 over the very low odds picking 12-13, not that a franchise player would be sitting there and no amount of future #1’s we offered could get him. Only a fool (Michael Jordan I am looking at you) would think teams sitting at 8 or 9 would not take three future #1 picks (or some combination of them) to move down a bit. Miami looks smart b/c Chris Bosh had a blood clot? The Lakers look smart b/c Kobe insulted the sport for 35 games with his ugly/selfish ball before shutting it down and allowing that franchise to tank hideously? I’m sorry but Danny traded the Celtics TWO BEST PLAYERS and acquired a PG you mock and deride at being 5’9″ (this AFTER Dragic went to Miami and BEFORE Bosh went down) and yet somehow this team played with heart and Celtics Pride and became BETTER. You keep those hindsight 20-20 glasses on buddy. The players in the 8-14 spots in this draft were all about equally talented. Nobody thought in February Sac would reach for Cauley-Stein, Charlotte/Detroit reached for guys as well and that Winslow would fall. Like I said, Justice may not even turn out much better than like a Stacey Augmon/Tony Allen type player.
      - art
        
        Based on where they drafted and who they were able to draft at #16, I bet Danny would also say he made a mistake trading for Thomas mid-season. There’s no way in hell you can ever, ever depend on another team trading away their top 10 pick no matter what. That argument is a joke.
        Celtics pride and heart don’t win titles sir, talent does, and franchise players do.
        
        I hope you’re right about your 8-14 assessment, I don’t think you are, but I hope so anyways. With that said, I really like the C’s Hunter and Mickey picks. They may turn out really well.
        
        What I don’t hear is that this draft was stronger than last year’s. I think it was, time will tell, and a top 10 pick would gotten you something good.
        Since you seem knowledgeable on the subject, why did the C’s pass on Bobby Portis?
CallingBatman

Do it.
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Banner18

Dream offseason for me.
1. Use the Rondo TPE to take Gibson from the Bulls (include our own lotto protected 2016 pick or the protected Minny pick that becomes two 2nd rounders)
2. Sign Harris to a max contract offer and sell him on being ‘The Man’ a 20ppg 1st option on offense surrounded by young, gritty role-players, having plays drawn up for him by a brilliant young ‘players-coach’ and a stable owner/GM with a cache of future picks/cap space and a rabid fan base.
3. Trade Smart, Sully and two future (protected) #1 picks for Mass native Nerlens Noel. if Philly refuses to bite on a trade that helps both teams, then either sign Biyombo to an Avery Bradley type contract (I prefer him at 4/30 to Robin Lopez at 4/50 if future cap space will be eaten up regardless).
C – Noel, Zeller
PF – Gibson, Olynyk
SF – Harris, Crowder, Turner
SG – Young/Hunter (hopefully one emerges/surprises), Bradley
PG – Thomas, Rozier, Turner/Pressey
Sully could still fit into the picture, but I’d shop him for sure if the team got Gibson and Noel or Biyombo. Harris will also play some stretch 4.

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