The Detroit Pistons and Tobias Harris have agreed on a two-year, $52 million deal with no team options, team sources said Monday.
Harris played in Detroit from 2015 to 2018 before being traded to the Clippers as part of the Blake Griffin deal. The 31-year-old spent the last five-plus seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 17.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2023-24.
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For Detroit, Harris is the archetype of the player the franchise needs to not only get out of the league’s basement but also to better complement its franchise cornerstone, Cade Cunningham. Harris can play either forward spot and is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter. Equally as important, Harris is always available to play, which has been an issue in the Motor City over the last decade. Harris has played in 70-plus games in five of his last six seasons. The offseason additions of Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. (via trade) signal that Detroit is not only trying to integrate veterans into its young roster but also is prioritizing 3-point shooting and availability.
Harris immediately slots in as the team’s starting power forward.
My first year covering the Pistons was the year Tobias got traded to the Clippers. So I got to know him. Great guy, first off.
Wrote this back then on how he got LASIK the summer before.
He's been a 36% 3-point shooter or better every since:https://t.co/6p6WrJhNCN
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) July 1, 2024
The Harris agreement is the latest move in a busy two days for Detroit. The Pistons and Cunningham are discussing a five-year, $226 million maximum rookie extension that would be the richest contract in franchise history, league sources said. And the franchise is also finalizing a deal to make former Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff its next head coach.
The Pistons still have $24 million in cap space at their disposal. And while it’s possible that the franchise could target another shooter in the open market, new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has suggested that the franchise will be a dumping ground for unwanted contracts that come with assets. The next few days should be interesting.
Required reading
- Live updates from NBA free agency
- Pistons, Cade Cunningham discussing 5-year, $226 million max rookie extension: Sources
- Grading Paul George’s Sixers move and other Day 1 NBA free-agency deals
(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
