After failing to lure Paul Millsap away from Atlanta with a max deal earlier in the week, the Orlando Magic re-signed twenty-two year old forward Tobias Harris late on Friday. According to Shams Charania of RealGM, the deal is worth $64 million and will ensure Harris spends the next four years with the Magic.
Given just how much young talent Orlando has amassed since trading Dwight Howard to the L.A. Lakers back in 2012, there were some doubts surrounding Harris’ future, especially when reports surfaced about his desire to land a near-max deal. However, two and a half solid seasons in Orlando were enough to convince Magic GM, Rob Hennigan, to commit to Harris long-term and to celebrate the young forward took to social media, tweeting “4 more years to the city, fans and teammates I love!!!! All Glory to God!!!! So blessed and excited…”
According to David Aldridge of TNT, the deal involves no ‘early outs’, meaning there are no team or player or options for Magic fans to worry about and with the deal in place, Harris – a relative veteran on an Orlando roster that also features the likes of Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon and the freshly-drafted Mario Hezonja – can focus on using his experience to assist in the development of his young teammates.
Fans will also be intrigued to see how his relationship with newly-appointed head coach Scott Skiles develops, as the two worked together in Milwaukee, the team that drafted Harris 19th overall in 2011, prior to the trade that saw him leave the Bucks as part of a deal focused around J.J. Redick.
As per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Harris address the matter on Friday, stating “First off, me and Scott have a great relationship. What people don’t understand is that when he first coached me, I was 18 years old. And from 18 to being about to turn 23 now, I’m a completely different player. Even in Milwaukee, where I didn’t play as much, we still had a great dialogue. He just wanted me to work harder. He just said, ‘Your time is coming.’ So he was always encouraging for me.”
Assuming Skiles is able to get the best out of Harris and the rest of this young core, expectations will continue to grow in Orlando this year, with the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference a likely target moving forward.
