Tobias Harris’ future is in management’s hands now
The Orlando Magic will have a difficult question to answer when Tobias Harris gets his offer sheet. The choice is solely in their hands now.
When it comes to making basketball decision this summer, there may not be a bigger one than Tobias Harris.
Here is a 22-year-old forward with a knack for scoring the basketball. At the end of the day, that is the point of the game right?
And eventually to retain a guy so young to average 17.1 points per game — one of only four players younger than 23 to do that this season — you have to pony up the cash for him.
Entering restricted free agency this summer, Harris is about to get paid.
“We didn’t talk too much about it,” Harris said of his conversation with Rob Hennigan and management at season’s end. “More about the season and about the year. He told me not to worry aobut it and he’s proud of the year I’ve had.
“Only God knows what’s next,” Harris added. “I can’t control the future. None of us can. We’ll leave it up to management to decide what the overall plan is and we’ll go from there.”
“I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season.” –Rob Hennigan
The Magic have publicly made it known they intend to keep Tobias Harris. On a season ticket holder teleconference, Hennigan said the Magic intend to do to keep Harris “no matter what.” A previous report stated the Magic were willing to match up to $13 million per year (structure pending).
The thing that is most clear is the Magic want to keep Harris and Harris would like to stay in Orlando, it is now about how much the Magic offer or are willing to match.
“I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season,” Rob Hennigan said. And we’ll stay true to that.”
Harris is a restricted free agent this summer. The Magic will likely extend the qualifying offer to retain the right of first refusal and then wait to see what Harris gets on the open market.
As Harris noted when I asked him about the potential awkwardness of waiting for a team to make an offer sheet, the Magic can still negotiate a contract independently with Harris. So if the Magic really want Harris, they are free to go after him and offer him whatever it will take.
Otherwise, and this is more likely, Harris will be waiting for an offer sheet to sign from another team and then wait the required three days to see if the Magic will match. And what that offer will be is anybody’s guess.
The Magic’s stated intent to match plus the increasing cap — it will reportedly be near $69 million next year, but will jump to nearly $90 million in the 2017 season and then $108 million in 2018 — could put Harris in line for a much larger contract.
“I think it’s a good position to be in,” Harris said. “Like I said before, I trust in the Lord’s plan for me and what is to happen next. But I can’t sit here and tell you guys this is going to happen or that’s going to happen because I don’t know. All I control is my game and what I do this summer to improve my game and how I get better and help my team.”
Harris did a decent job throughout the season. He returned to the scoring output that had many Magic fans excited for his potential in his first 20-plus games with the Magic after his 2013 trade. His effective field goal percentage eclipsed 50 percent for the first time in his career as he showed an improved 3-point shot — a career-best 36.4 percent.
He was expanding his offensive game in exactly the way the Magic wanted him to.
But the rest of his game is still rough around the edges. He improved defensively this year, but is hardly a lockdown guy. His rebound rate dropped to 10.3 percent (perhaps a side product of playing with Dewayne Dedmon more) and his assist rate stayed at 8.8 percent. He is not a facilitator and it is hard to find much use for him if he does not have the ball in his hands.
He is still young and so can still develop these skills. The question is do you pay a player potentially $55 million in the next four years to watch those skills develop.
There is nothing to suggest Harris will not get better at what he needs to. Harris always had a quiet determination and, at least publicly, was willing to hold himself and his teammates to task after tough losses. This does not seem like a player who will check out once he gets his paycheck.
More importantly, Harris said his focus is on winning. That might explain his frustration with his own play and his team’s play as the season closed.
Harris has done all he can to convince the Magic and other teams he is worth that investment. Now he just waits.
“He’s done a bang-up job this year,” said Channing Frye, his teammate and cousin. “He’s a consummate pro. No matter what happens, he’s going to be successful. I don’t think anybody has seen close to the tip of the iceberg of what he can do and what his talent is. I think hopefully he comes back — which again, it’s about his life and his business. I think we can be pretty dang good with him here.”