Tobias Harris is staying in the City of Brotherly Love.
Despite plenty of outside interest, Harris has agreed to a five-year, $180 million contract to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Harris confirmed the signing in an essay on ESPN. The deal includes no player options, meaning that Harris will be under team control until after the 2023-24 NBA season.
Harris, 26, was traded to Philadelphia from the Los Angeles Clippers -- along with Boban Marjanović and Mike Scott -- in exchange for Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet and a number of future draft picks in February. In 27 regular season games with the Sixers, he averaged 18.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 35 minutes of action per game.
Now that he will be in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future, Harris can continue to build upon the chemistry and camaraderie with young All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons that he began to develop last season; an opportunity that he's extremely excited about.
"In every way, I am thrilled to be staying with the 76ers and getting to work on everything -- playing with my teammates again, impacting young people and, yes, bringing a championship back to Philadelphia," Harris said of his decision to re-sign with the Sixers, via ESPN. "I can't wait to get started.
"From the trade to the Sixers in February, through the regular season and playoffs and now onto free agency, this contract is a culmination of so much in my life and basketball career. It's also a new beginning... Everything happens in the way that God planned for it to be done and I trust and put my faith knowing that this will be a great five years."
The way Harris sees it, the Sixers have some unfinished business to attend to after the unceremonious way that they were eliminated from the postseason in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the eventual-champion Toronto Raptors.
"As soon as I arrived from the [Los Angeles] Clippers in February, I could see the possibilities with this group of players, organization and city," Harris said. "We've got unfinished business, and I'm ready to commit to a long-term vision of bringing a title to Philadelphia. From the moment I arrived in Philadelphia, the city has embraced me. This is an incredible sports town and it's hungry for an NBA title. So are the Sixers -- and so am I.
"We had a talented group and made a great run all the way to Game 7 against the eventual NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors. We will always remember Kawhi Leonard's shot bouncing on the rim, and finally, falling through the net. It was a heartbreaking loss, the kind that motivates you to want to get back into the playoffs -- and go even further."
Heading into free agency, the Sixers had just four players -- Embiid, Simmons, Jonah Bolden, and Zhaire Smith -- under contract for next season, so they will clearly need to continue to build out the roster over the offseason, but getting Harris locked up is a solid start.
