Tobias Harris heads to Magic with renewed opportunity

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

The Orlando Magic acquired forward Tobias Harris in a trade that sent J.J. Redick to the Milwaukee Bucks, and the young small forward now has the opportunity to show what he's made of.

Tobias Harris has yet to stick anywhere for very long. He left college at Tennessee following a freshman season where he put up a respectable but underwhelming 15 points and seven rebounds per game. Selected 19th by the Charlotte Bobcats, he was traded on draft day to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he only lasted a season and a half.

Before Thursday's trade deadline, he was again traded to the Orlando Magic in part of a six-player trade.

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The key pieces in the Magic's deadline deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, J.J. Redick and Beno Udrih, have less to do with the Magic's future than the smaller pieces. Orlando shipped off the valuable Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith in exchange for Udrih, 21-year-old guard Doron Lamb and Harris. Losing Redick was expected in the offseason as he'd become a highly-coveted free agent.

Udrih should only be a valuable asset for the rest of this season and nothing more permanent. And under the new CBA, the Magic will keep their cap space in hopes that a crop of youngsters will yield one or two contributors down the road.

Harris is at the forefront of Orlando's attempts to rebuild. A 6'6, 225 pound wing and the cousin of Phoenix Suns forward Channing Frye, the 20-year-old has room to grow. He averaged five points on 46.7 percent shooting last season and is about on the same track this year.

He will likely compete in development with 19-year-old rookie Moe Harkless, who has similar stats as Harris but is a less efficient scorer.

The key for Harris will be finding playing time and working to develop a consistent way of scoring. Though that's his strongsuit, he doesn't have a consistent jump shot or offensive attack, and he's only a so-so athlete. With the Magic, he will presumably have much more playing time than he did on the playoff-seeking Bucks, as suspended Hedo Turkoglu only thins out the depth at the forward positions.

Harris will likely steal time from Harkless and DeQuan Jones at small forward, and it'll be on his shoulders to take advantage of more opportunities to improve in Orlando.