I have no idea what truly goes through the mind of Tobias Harris, but I will guess he likes the idea of playing for a team that will annually have a shot at a title. That’s truly a hunch, but not an unreasonable one I hunk. I suspect he likes the idea of the extra year the Sixers can give him at $33M even more. Call me crazy, but 5/188 sounds better than 4/150 (or whatever the difference is; the NBA cap is confusing). Not that I put much stock into what I’m about to write next, but Harris doesn’t strike me as a highly egotistical person.
The argument made to me was more from the team’s point of view, and it fairly assumes Butler and Harris would not have an objection to a return. I asked why they wouldn’t just try to sign Butler and look to FA for a replacement over Harris (the fact that they surrendered assets to get him is beside the point now). It was suggested to me that it’s not that simple because a team cannot simply exceed the cap for any player, but they can for one for whom they retain the rights. So to sign Butler means they have no room for a non-Sixer FA, but they do for Harris, assuming they are willing to pay luxury tax - which they obviously are. That was my friend’s explanation. He seems like he knows what he’s talking about. I’m open to other assessments.