The Detroit Pistons started free agency by bringing back a familiar face in veteran forward Tobias Harris on a two-year deal.
The Pistons gave Harris, most recently a starter for the Philadelphia 76ers, $52 million over two years on Monday. Harris provides the Pistons with consistent floor spacing and scoring ability from the forward position at 6 feet 8 with a career average of 16.2 points per game, including 17.2 points in 2023-24.
The Harris signing accomplishes a major goal the Pistons had this offseason in adding a veteran who can shoot. Last year, the Pistons stumbled to a league-worst 14-68 record while largely relying on one of the youngest starting units in the NBA and had little veteran contribution. On the second day of the draft, the Pistons moved up in the second round while taking on Wendell Moore Jr. from the Timberwolves, then flipped Quentin Grimes for Tim Hardaway Jr. and a trio of future second-round picks.
BREAKING DOWN THE MOVE:Tobias Harris signing finally fills Detroit Pistons long-running need
Harris and Hardaway both slot into the lineup as capable 3-point shooters willing to pull from deep, something that was missing on the roster last season.
However, some NBA writers were not huge fans of the Hardaway deal and the immediate reaction to the Harris deal was that the Pistons overpaid for Harris’ talents.
Here’s what NBA writers think of the Harris signing.
Ricky O’Donnell with SB Nation applauded Harris’ ability to secure the bag, then added that he’s a positional fit for the Pistons while being a negligible talent upgrade.
“Harris is a good positional fit for the Pistons as a jumbo forward who can take some pressure off Cade Cunningham and the rest of Detroit’s young core, but he’s still not a high enough volume shooter to truly space the floor, and he’s (not) an impactful defender, either,” O’Donnell wrote. “I don’t think this does much for Detroit, but it will be a big expiring contract a year from now.”
An anonymous writer for Bleacher Report gave the deal a B, saying it was fine value for a veteran who should upgrade the Pistons’ starting 4 spot.
“This is a low-risk move by the Pistons, who needed more veteran talent on their roster. Harris still gets a nice payday as well.”
Fox Sports really hated the signing, saying it was the worst deal signed so far based on their grades of the free agent signings around the league so far.
“There’s just no reason for the Pistons to waste cap space on Harris. It’s not that he’s bad — though he did have a rough time last season,” Yaron Weitzman wrote. “It’s just that, given where the Pistons are in their rebuilding process, all their cap space should be devoted to taking on other team’s contracts in exchange for some sort of asset.”
Kevin Pelton, ESPN’s longtime NBA guru, also didn’t like the deal for the Pistons, though he acknowledged Harris is a fine player. But both from a fit and value standpoint, the Pistons might not like what they ended up getting.
“Harris has been most comfortable playing with the ball in his hands,” Pelton wrote. “It was one thing to ask Harris to spot up while Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey operated. Doing so for Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey might be a different story.
“I’m not totally sure who the Pistons’ competition was to sign Harris.”
HARRIS’ COACH:J.B. Bickerstaff is right coach for Pistons today. Worry about a parade later.
Stephen Noh with Sporting News said Harris doesn’t make a ton of sense with this version of the Pistons’ roster, but could be a moveable asset if he experiences a career resurgence back in the Motor City.
“Harris has received a lot of hate for being overpaid,” Noh wrote. “He’s still an OK defender and scorer but he’s declining and doesn’t make a ton of sense on this Pistons team. They had cap space to spend, and if he improves his play then he will be a tradeable asset for a playoff team.”
