NBA Free Agency: 5 Worst contracts offered this offseason
The 2019 NBA off-season changed the landscape of the league dramatically. The decision which Kevin Durant made in joining the Brooklyn Nets has effectively ended the dominance of the Golden State Warriors and has brought back some sort of equilibrium in the NBA.
There is now an emergence of power duos in the league, where a lot of contenders and dark horses have two star players and a bunch of good role players around them to push for a championship and the path to the NBA title has not been this open in a long time.
While there have been some great moves made by teams, there are also some really bad ones. Here are 5 of the worst contracts offered this off-season.
#5 Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers): 5 years, $180 million
This ranking does not reflect that Tobias Harris is a bad player, it is reflecting the value of his contract, which is too high, even for a player of his caliber. But, once the 76ers had traded for him, they knew that he will command a maximum contract or simply join another team which would pay him that money.
Harris is an exceptional player and played like one last season, narrowly missing out on an All-Star berth. He averaged 20 points and 7.9 rebounds last season, shooting just under 40% from beyond the 3-point line, making him a very valuable asset, especially given how well he fits in a team like the 76ers.
But then Harris will earn the same amount as Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker, which puts this contract in perspective. That is money that superstars get and Harris will at best be the 3rd option on this 76ers roster.
Given Harris' struggles in the playoffs last season and the fact that apart from scoring and rebounding, Harris is just an average defender and does not bring much apart from his shooting to this team, making this contract feel bloated.
Harris is exactly what this team needs, a big man who can play a variety of positions and is amazing at stretching the floor and creating space for his teammates. But 3 years down the line, the 76ers might regret giving such a huge contract to Harris.