Scott Skiles: 'I would not have been for moving' Tobias Harris from the Bucks
Magic forward struggled to get minutes under Skiles in Milwaukee but is thriving with him in Orlando.
By
Matt Moore
•
3 min read
Scott Skiles coached now-Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris when both were in Milwaukee. But in his sophomore season -- the last year Skiles was there before being fired mid-season -- Harris saw his numbers sliced and his role diminished, before being traded to Orlando where he blossomed into a terrific primary offensive weapon.
Skiles was asked about it this week, and said that if it were up to him, he would never have traded Harris, and explained why he slipped out of the rotation.
"He was pretty mature as a person even then," Skiles said of Harris, who left Tennessee after his freshman year to enter the NBA Draft. "In camp he got sick; he fell behind.
"At that time, we just felt [Luc] Mbah a Moute was a better defender and [Mike] Dunleavy was a better offensive player, and Tobias didn't get as many minutes. But we were high on him.
"Not that anybody would have listened to me, but if I would have still been the coach, I would not have been for moving Tobias. That's for sure, if somebody would ask my opinion."
Source: Skiles says he wouldn't have traded Tobias Harris.
I was curious if Skiles is using revisionist history here, but I went back, and sure enough, he mentioned the mature thing all the way back in Harris' rookie season. From January, 2012:
"We're high on him," coach Scott Skiles said. "We think he has a lot of potential. He's just learning. He's trying to learn our defensive schemes, so he's getting taken advantage some by some veteran guys. But he's got all the tools. Offensively, he's a pretty well-rounded player right now, but obviously because of his age, we think he's going to get a lot better."
"So far, he's appeared to be much more mature than his age would indicate. But I would also be surprised if he wasn't feeling some butterflies."
Source: Tobias Harris still on training wheels for Bucks | Newsday.
Skiles was also down on the youngster's defensive liabilities. At that point, Skiles was coaching for his job, which meant wins, and playing young players like Harris was at that point compromised the defensive schemes.
"He [Harris] has got a very, very good player playing there with him in Mike," Skiles said. "And Marquis is a very good veteran player.
"That's why we're committed to giving him some minutes now and taking a real good look at it so we hopefully can make a judgment on exactly where he is before opening night."
Skiles will have to be convinced Harris is deserving of a starting spot and can handle his assignments if the young player is to be in the starting five Nov. 2 in Boston.
"We need to hit the ground running this year," Skiles said. "We can't afford to be messing around.
"And the player needs to have confidence. You only gain confidence if you're out there feeling comfortable, if you know you're in the right place, you know what you're supposed to be doing.
"He still has situations where he just gets caught unaware. It's common in young players. But he's gotten a lot better at it."
Source: Bucks' Tobias Harris wants starting job.
It's good to hear this from Skiles, and it makes a lot of sense, given the situation. Harris is getting over 30 minutes per game this season and averaging 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. He's having a great season.
Of course, the situation still carries with it some concerns. He's not a shot blocker or rim protector (even at a career-high 0.7 blocks per game), which they need next to Nikola Vucevic. Behind him is Aaron Gordon, who can play the smallball four, and Channing Frye, who is great as a stretch four but bad as a stretch five. They play Gordon at the three ... which means Mario Hezonja gets squeezed out of the rotation.
You wonder if that means eventually they'll want to move one of those guys, but for right now, it's working. The Magic at 8-8 have been very competitive vs. a tough schedule.
