When the Detroit Pistons signed Tobias Harris in July, it was a move panned by many.
It was too much money. Too long of a contract. Too mid of a player.
It was a boring addition because we’ve been down the road with Tobias in Detroit.
But it was an extremely important move.
First, it represents a rare instance of a starting-level player truly wanting to be in Detroit — especially after the hellish 2023-24 season. Sure, his wife Jasmine played a part in their return home as a native, but Harris was a good player last time around and, if not for the Blake Griffin trade that sent him to LA, he might have continued to be that in Detroit.
Believe it or not, we’re seven years between Harris eras in Detroit and, once again, he’s serving as a valuable piece on a Pistons team eyeing playoff success.
Cade Cunningham is obviously the most valuable player on this team, but I think Tobias is the most irreplaceable. When you look at the Pistons’ recent wins over the Portland Trailblazers and Washington Wizards, Harris’ impact was apparent.
He’s proven to be one of their most reliable late-game players. That little fadeaway jumper he loves has been automatic and MUCH needed as late leads have shrunk with the Pistons desperate for clutch-time offense outside of Cade:
The Pistons’ biggest issue with closing out games and holding onto leads is that once Cade starts getting blitzed and trapped at half court, they lack reliable shotmakers.
Malik Beasley is either lighting the arena on fire or missing everything, Ausar Thompson can create but not finish and Jalen Duren, despite his improvements, still needs a helping hand getting buckets against a defense that’s keying in on him.
It left a big opportunity for Tobias, who has more than taken advantage.
What’s really impressive is how simpatico of a fit Harris has been with the roster. Looking at 2-man lineup data from NBA.com, the following players have had their best +/- numbers while sharing the floor with Harris:
Dennis Schroder +4.0
Cade Cunningham +3.3
Malik Beasley +3.2
Ausar Thompson +2.3
Jalen Duren +2.3
Simone Fontecchio +1.7
I mean it when I say this: Tobias might be the perfect role fit for this team at this time.
This roster was built at its core by Troy Weaver, but his lack of pro personnel acumen is why it remained in the gutter for so long. Trajan Langdon has made perfect choice after perfect choice when it comes to fitting the right veteran pieces into the right roles.
However, I’m not sure even he thought Harris would fit in quite like this.
Early in the season, when shots weren’t falling and the Pistons were trying to figure out who they were, belief in Harris’ leadership and chemistry was all a truther really had to hang their hat on. He was bad.
But, after opening the season with four rough games — shooting 34% from the field (18% from 3) to go with 10 points and 7 rebounds — Harris finally found his stride against his former team. He went into Philadelphia, was booed mercifully, and walked out of the arena with 18 points, 14 rebounds and, most importantly, the Pistons’ first win of the season.
It’s a small moment in the big picture of things, but a veteran showing the mental toughness to put up that game in an emotional environment like that is huge. This team would have WITHERED in that setting a year ago.
They just didn’t know how to handle it. Tobias Harris was brought here to teach these kids how to win. Now that they’re doing that, he’s helping them push the limits of how far this coming out party can go in the playoffs.