NBA Trade Deadline: Top 5 draft-altering trades

4. Tobias Harris to the Sixers

This one is a little confusing.

On its face, this move was the equivalent of the Los Angeles Clippers waiving the white flag, trading away their nominal “best” player as they’re in the thick of a playoff race they should want to finish on the outside of looking in.

It may not be that simple. Despite the amazing season Harris is having – one that has set him up to get seriously paid – his presence on the Clippers doesn’t seem as vital than harder-to-replace parts like Lou Williams or Montrezl Harrell. As Zach Lowe noted on his podcast Friday, thanks to Danilo Gallinari doing a lot of the things Harris does, plus the deadline additions of Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green, LA might not be out of the playoff race after all.

The reason this isn’t a good thing is that they owe a lottery-protected pick to Boston. This is important because it kills two birds with one stone: Los Angeles keeping their pick strengthens their position for a possible Anthony Davis trade while weakening that of the Celtics.

If they ended up trading for Davis or acquiring a star via free agency, that pick would almost certainly convey next year and not be nearly as juicy as something in the mid-teens, which is where it would be if the Clips snagged the eighth seed. Keep an eye out for this one.