It remains to be seen if Tobias Harris will be traded by the Philadelphia 76ers, but Philadelphians now have an added incentive to see him stay.
The veteran forward addressed his future in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia published Tuesday and was fairly blunt about how he thinks some Sixers fans regard him:
“Trade speculation, you know, casual Sixers fans, they’ll trade me for a Crumb Cookie,” Harris. “But at the end of the day, they have to realize you’re not getting a 6-foot-nine forward back who can, you know, damn near shoot 40 percent from three, guard other teams’ best player, shoot, post -up, drive, play 70-plus games a year.”
Fast forward a few hours and Crumbl Cookies was making its offer to Philadelphia: a free cookie for everyone, but only if Harris stays with the Sixers.
It should be noted that this is some brilliant marketing by Harris, who has invested in multiple Philadelphia-area Crumbl Cookie locations and just gave them an incredible amount of free exposure.
Cookie or no, Harris’ future looms large as the Sixers retool for the future after a disappointing and ultimately humiliating second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics. The team has already fired head coach Doc Rivers and replaced him with former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and might be about to say goodbye to former MVP James Harden, who holds a player option for next season.
Trading Harris would be another big change in the supporting cast around Joel Embiid. He’s coming off a season in which he averaged 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game — all his lowest marks since joining Philadelphia in 2019 — while shooting 50.1% from the field and 38.9% from 3-point range.
While a large wing who can effectively shoot from deep is typically a very valuable player in the modern NBA, that is less true when his team is paying him $39.3 million for next season, as the Sixers are on track to do.
That salary might make it tempting to off-load Harris, but it also means the return for him would be limited at best. And given what the Sixers are reportedly asking for in trade negotiations, Crumbl might want to start getting his cookies ready.