NBA Rumors: 76ers Want To Sign Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, Odds Suggest Philadelphia Won't Keep Both

While most of the trade rumors have concerned the Los Angeles Lakers’ pursuit of Anthony Davis, the Philadelphia 76ers have actually executed the boldest deals of the NBA season. The team acquired Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers early Wednesday morning, doing so less than three months after they received Jimmy Butler in a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Philadelphia’s moves are clearly a sign that they plan on competing for a championship this year. The 76ers gave up young talent on controllable contracts and future first-round draft picks for two players that are set to hit free agency this summer.

These trades, however, weren’t simply made for 2019. The 76ers reportedly have visions of keeping both Butler and Harris for years to come.

A roster that includes Butler, Harris, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons has the makings of a top NBA team for the foreseeable future. Embiid and Simmons are both All-Stars will All-NBA potential. Butler had been an All-Star in the previous four seasons. Harris is the best No.4 option on any team with averages of 20.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

Keeping that core intact won’t be easy, and doing so would likely give Philadelphia the most expensive team in NBA history.

Butler is expected to get a max contract offer worth close to $140 million over four years by at least one team that has cap space this summer. Harris will likely get offers close to that, if not for the exact max, on the open market.

Embiid will make $27.2 million in the 2019-2020 season, and his salary is set to increase by about $2 million each year over the following three seasons. Simmons will be eligible to sign a five-year extension worth about $160 million this summer before becoming a restricted free agent in 2020.

Following Wednesday’s trade, BetOnline.ag set the odds of Butler staying with the 76ers and Harris walking at 2/1. Philadelphia was given 3/2 odds to just re-sign Harris. The odds of both staying are 5/2, and the 76ers are given 4/1 odds to lose both players in free agency.

No team has ever had four players on max contracts. The Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder currently lead the NBA with payrolls around $145 million.

The 76ers are the No.5 seed in the East through 54 games. They trail the No.1 seed Milwaukee Bucks by six games, but the latest deal might have given them as good of a chance as any team in the conference to reach the 2019 NBA Finals.

With so many rumors swirling about what could happen in free agency, the playoffs will play a major role in the destinations of the league's top players this summer.