Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris could have helped USA World Cup team

If Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris had been on team USA’s World Cup roster, he may have been the boost the club needed.

Earlier this summer, Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers declined an invitation to join the USA World Cup roster in training camp. Harris wasn’t the only elite player to do so and it left team USA without much star talent. This lead the one of the worst finishes in the history of Team USA’s international play.

The USA team lost to France first and then was defeated by Serbia, so they place somewhere between 7th or 8th place in the World Cup. Talent was clearly an issue outside of the injuries to Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart during the tournament, along with injuries to other players prior too the beginning of the World Cup. There were some big names that decided not to play for team USA.

Notable players that withdrew from this roster includes: Zion Williamson, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, CJ McCollum, Andre Drummond, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden, Montrezl Harrell, Julius Randle, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, De’Aaron Fox and Harris. Only Harris, Harrell, Fox, Randle and Gordon don’t have any All-Star appearances out of the group, which obviously hurts the when it comes to overall talent standpoint.

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Currently, the USA roster only has three players who’ve made an All-Star game in Brook Lopez, Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton. Only Walker and Middleton made the All-Star game last year. Granted Harris hasn’t been an All-Star yet, but he did have an All-Star level season last year averaging 20.0 points and 7.9 rebounds. Only Walker and Donovan Mitchell averaged more points than Harris last NBA season, so the USA team could have used Harris’ scoring ability during the World Cup.

Harris would have also helped man the power forward position. Only Harrison Barnes and Tatum that have the ability play the position, but Tatum isn’t a natural power forward, so only Barnes is the only natural four on the roster. Harris would have been a natural fit in that regard, especially with Tatum’s injury.

This isn’t to say that Harris didn’t make the right decision for himself. He’s getting important time to rest and stay healthy prior to the start to this season. With the Sixers in a prime position to contend for a title, it’s understandable that he would want to focus on that.

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The Philadelphia 76ers should be been better off with Harris not playing in the FIBA World Cup, but it’s clear that Harris would have made a positive impact on team USA with his scoring and ability to fill a position of need.