Tobias Harris Showing He's Invaluable Part of Orlando Magic's Uncertain Future
A 7-14 start to the 2014-15 campaign may not sound like your traditional definition of success, but it's a sign of progress for the Orlando Magic—especially when accounting for the fact that 14 of those first 21 games have been on the road.
The rebuilding franchise won just 23 games a season ago, Jacque Vaughn's second as head coach. And while it may not be on pace to surpass that mark dramatically, there are tangible signs of growth.
Forward Tobias Harris is chief among them. The 22-year-old was acquired via trade from the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013 and instantly became a rotation fixture, averaging 36.1 minutes through his first 27 games in Orlando—a marked increase over the 11.6 minutes per game he'd been playing in Milwaukee.
Through 19 appearances this season, the fourth-year pro is tallying a career-high 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds. While he isn't a prolific three-point shooter, he's making 40.5 percent of his attempts—which is pretty good for a strong 6'9" frame that can mix it up inside.
The Tennessee product is taking his game to another level without losing sight of the team-first principles general manager Rob Hennigan treasures.
"We've just been focusing on team chemistry that the coaches have been giving us, we've been executing and things have been working," Harris told reporters in November, per NBA.com's John Denton. "When we play like a team and play team basketball, it's fun to watch and everybody enjoys themselves."
The Magic are hardly a one-man show. It's a roster without superstar pedigree and the baggage that comes therewith. Alongside 24-year-old center Nikola Vucevic, a blossoming Evan Fournier and the rookie pair of Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon, Hennigan has assembled a promising young core.
Harris just happens to be something of an early bloomer, one of the first signs that this stockpile of raw talent could actually pay off.
He's also become one of the first major contract decisions Hennigan has faced since his arrival in 2012. The two sides failed to reach agreement on an extension in October, but there doesn't seem to be any lingering bitterness.
"It's not personal. It's just business. That's the way you've got to look at it," Harris told NBA.com's Denton last month. "We're past that point (for a contract extension). There's no hard feelings at all, and it's just business.
"As a basketball player this is my job, this is what I come out to do and this is what I love to do. It's all about how I approach the game and help my team now. I just go out there and play basketball. I'll let everything else handle itself."
That's not a surprising sentiment from someone having a career season in advance of his restricted free agency in July. The Magic retain the right to match any offer Harris receives on the open market, and it could be a significant one given the current economic climate.
Young swingmen cashed in this summer. Chandler Parsons (three years, $45 million), Gordon Hayward Aaron Gordon (four years, $63 million) and Klay Thompson (four years, $69 million) have established something of a price range for emerging stars on the wing. Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler join Harris among free agents poised to claim similar hauls in 2015.
Pricey though he'll be, Orlando would be wise to keep Harris in the fold. And he's indicated an interest in sticking around.
"Obviously, I want to be here...I love the fans, the city of Orlando and the guys," Harris told the Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz in September (subscription required). "Management knows I want to be here. It's the perfect situation for me."
Should his hometown New York Knicks make a strong push, however, Harris might prefer a change of scenery.
TheKnicksBlog.com's Adam Zagoria cited "a Harris confidant" in November who suggested, "I'm telling you if the Knicks come at him hard, who wouldn't want to play for their hometown team?"
Harris is from Long Island and has a strong relationship with Carmelo Anthony, with whom he played as recently as this summer.
"They play well together," Zagoria's source added. "Carmelo always had him on his team when Kevin Durant came to town, and they would win every game."
It's certainly a plausible scenario.
As the New York Post's Marc Berman notes:
"The Knicks will have a ton of cap space in 2015. They are capable of signing their No. 1 target, center Marc Gasol, and could still have room for the versatile Harris...The Knicks will have even more cap room if J.R. Smith opts out.
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New York may very well have other priorities given its assortment of needs, but guys like Harris will be in high demand one way or another. His combination of size, shooting ability, athleticism and two-way pedigree will elicit some serious dollars from somewhere.
Then Hennigan and Co. will have some thinking to do.
The Magic would have preferred to lock Harris up via a more modest extension, but that would have made little sense for Harris, who was somewhat limited by a nagging ankle sprain last season. He's back to full health and now has an opportunity to audition his improved skill set to potential suitors.
But Orlando can ill afford to take a step back at this juncture, still just beginning to scrape itself off the floor of Eastern Conference standings. Massive investments always come with some risk attached, but the organization will only have so many opportunities to acquire another player of Harris' caliber.
It's probably better off retaining a known commodity, no matter the cost.
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