Philadelphia 76ers lose Tobias Harris, Nicolas Batum and De'Anthony Melton in 2024 NBA free agency, reports say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia 76ers have made some big additions so far in NBA free agency by agreeing to a max contract with Paul George and giving rising star Tyrese Maxey a five-year deal. But they've also lost some key players in their rotation from the 2023-24 season.
Forwards Tobias Harris and Nicolas Batum and guard De'Anthony Melton will both be playing for different teams next season.
On Monday, ESPN reported Harris plans to sign a two-year, $52 million deal with the Detroit Pistons. Batum agreed to a two-year, $10.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN. And Melton plans to sign a one-year, $12.8 million deal with the Golden State Warriors as they look to replace Klay Thompson, who is set to head to the Dallas Mavericks, The Athletic reported. Later Monday night, ESPN reported center Mo Bamba, who played in 57 games with the Sixers, agreed to a one-year deal with the Clippers.
Harris spent the past six seasons in Philadelphia after the Sixers acquired him in a trade during the 2018-19 season with the Clippers. Harris signed a five-year, $180 million contract with the 76ers in the summer of 2019, but never lived up to the contract as one of the top-paid forwards in the NBA.
Last season, Harris averaged 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 70 games.
Batum was acquired in the trade package last season that sent James Harden to the Clippers and ended up being the most important player for the Sixers in that deal. He played plenty of roles on offense and defense for Nick Nurse's squad and did the dirty work as the glue guy in the lineup.
Batum played 57 games in the regular season with the Sixers, including 38 starts. He averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and shot 39% on 3-pointers.
Batum had the performance of his life in the NBA Play-In Tournament win against the Miami Heat to help the Sixers earn a spot in the playoffs before falling in six games to the New York Knicks.
Melton only played 38 games for the Sixers last season as he dealt with a back injury, but he started 91 games for the team over the past two seasons, which is just more than half of the team's regular season games. The Sixers will miss Melton's shooting and defense in the backcourt as they work to fill out the rest of their roster.
In his two seasons with the team, Melton averaged 10.4 points and shot 37.9% on 3-pointers.
In addition to agreeing to contract with George and giving Maxey a contract extension, the Sixers also agreed to deals with Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon and Kelly Oubre Jr.