In Tobias Harris, the Pistons are getting a veteran floor raiser and floor spacer
Tobias Harris.
Tobias Harris is coming back to Detroit.
Almost 10 years after the Detroit Pistons traded him in a package to the Los Angeles Clippers for then-All-Star forward Blake Griffin, Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon has decided to bring 6-foot-8, 226-pound veteran back to help raise the floor of the 14-68 team he inherited.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, it's a two-year deal for Harris worth $52M.
Woj's tweet really says it all in this instance. Harris is no superstar — he's averaged 16.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a game in his soon to be 18-season career — but he's a solid veteran who knows the league, knows high-level basketball and at the very least should be a nice cornerstone piece for the Pistons over the next two years as they look to rebuild their dilapidated roster.
He likely won't be around when (or if) the Pistons become a playoff-worthy team, but he's a floor raiser for a team that desperately needs talent and at the very least, he'll be able to help stretch the floor thanks to his above-average three-point shooting.
Detroit has severely lacked three-point shooting in the Cade Cunningham era and thus, has lacked floor spacing. Having Harris at the four should allow more room for Cunningham to operate in the paint. It also gives him a reliable option when he passes out — so at the very least the Pistons should be able to create an environment more suitable for Cunningham (a borderline All-Star) to become an All-Star.
If the Pistons can do just that while having a veteran like Harris in the starting lineup to also help raise the game of young and full-of-potential players like Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson and new rookie forward Ron Holland II — Harris' $26M a year will pay for itself in dividends.
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