4) Tobias Harris, $5.8 million/2 yrs., RFA 2015
Probably the man at the center of every trade rumor or fantasy the Magic might have. Harris’ future with the Magic is extremely uncertain. Adding to that uncertainty is the fact he is an unrestricted free agent.
Orlando offered him one value, Harris wanted another this summer. The two decided to let the market set itself.
So what is that market?
That is extremely difficult to say.
Bill Simmons in his trade value column seemed pretty excited, but left Harris off his top-50:
"Tobias Harris: Why I Might Rejoice If My Celtics Offered Him $70 Million For Four Years As A Restricted Free Agent This Summer: He doesn’t turn 23 until July … he’s already a steady 18-and-7 guy … he’s a stretch 4 who makes 3s (2015: 41 percent) … he’s competitive as hell … there’s a decent chance he could evolve into a 50-40-80 guy … he’s never played for a good coach in his life … he loves taking and making big shots … you can never go wrong with anyone named “Tobias” … and he already has his own “Buzzer Beater” YouTube Montage."
The Magic have made it clear they will match any offer he gets. That is probably true so long as it is not crazy backloaded. But anything reasonable — something in the lines of four-years, $48 million — probably is in the range the Magic are willing to spend.
The other question is do teams value Harris enough to want that protection of being able to match him. Or do they think he is going to get that big contract the Magic would be unwilling to match and are afraid to give up the assets to get him.
That is the difficulty of figuring out Tobias Harris.
Only the Magic really know how good he is and what they are willing to pay for him. Other teams are only guessing on what his value might be. If the Magic shop him around too much, it becomes clear the Magic think he is due a big contract this summer.
That would make it tough to get a full return for him. The Magic are not likely to give him up for nothing. It is a pickle and a very difficult decision.
Next: No. 3 Kyle O'Quinn