8. Trading for Tobias Harris
The 76ers gave up Wilson Chandler, Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala, and four draft picks, including two first-rounders, to get Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott at the 2019 trade deadline. It was a significant price for a soon-to-be free agent, but the Sixers were all-in. They had Jimmy Butler and believed they could win the championship.
Philadelphia lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Raptors. Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer-beater is an iconic highlight because Toronto went on to win the championship. There is no guarantee the Sixers bring home the title if the shot doesn’t go in, but it is one of the biggest what-ifs of this era.
The 76ers gave up two first-round picks to get Harris, so they could not let him walk in free agency. The 6’8 forward parlayed his leverage into a five-year $180 million contract in what turned into a disastrous 2019 offseason for the franchise. Harris never lived up to his new deal and walked in free agency in 2024.
Trade for Harrison Barnes
The Mavericks dumped Harrison Barnes after trading for Kristaps Porzingis. They got Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph in return. This was not prime Z-Bo. Randolph never played a game in Dallas. Yes, Harris is better than Barnes, but not two first-round draft picks better. The Sixers should have bought low on Barnes and used the extension savings to keep Jimmy Butler in the 2019 offseason.
Instead, trading for Harris led to arguably the Philadelphia 76ers’ biggest mistake in franchise history.