Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris will seek a maximum contract when he becomes a restricted free agent on July 1, and the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons are the frontrunners, according to RealGM's Shams Charania:
As Orlando restricted free agent Tobias Harris will pursue a maximum-level offer sheet on July 1 that the Magic possibly won’t match, the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics have emerged as leading candidates for the talented forward, league sources told RealGM.
Harris, 22, is among the top young players on the available market, and could be the most vulnerable restricted free agent to leave his team. Around the NBA, several teams are believed to be open to preparing a near-max contract for Harris — which could approach $15 million-plus per season, an area the Magic likely elect not to match given the course of extension talks last October and their current team salary structure.
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The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have also been long known as interested teams for Harris.
When the Magic drafted Mario Hezonja on Thursday, it was natural to wonder if this was partially insurance for Harris leaving. New head coach Scott Skiles said all the right things about the man he glued to the bench with the Milwaukee Bucks, but that doesn't mean that the front office will want to invest $15 million per year in him. For a young, growing team like Orlando, it's usually an awful idea to let someone as talented as Harris walk. This might be the exception to the rule, though, as the Magic have Hezonja on the wing and Aaron Gordon at power forward.
Harris averaged 17.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season, but the most important thing was he shot 36.4 percent from 3-point range. With his ability to score and space the floor, he played himself into a huge raise. You still wouldn't think of him as a max guy, but the upcoming salary-cap spike has warped everybody's value. It would be a surprise if he didn't at least get close to the max, whether it's from the Celtics or Pistons or otherwise.
Detroit is a particularly interesting destination -- he would be an effective stretch 4 next to Andre Drummond, but president and head coach Stan Van Gundy just traded for Ersan Ilyasova and drafted Stanley Johnson. I suppose, as the Golden State Warriors showed, you can never have enough versatile forwards.
