The long-rumored reunion is finally a reality.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, free agent forward Tobias Harris has agreed to a 2 year, $52 million contract with the Detroit Pistons .
Tobias Harris has agreed to a two-year, $52 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
There is no information yet on if there is more money in the first or second year, but according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports, there are no options in the deal.
No options on the 2 year, $52 million deal for Tobias Harris with Detroit, sources tell @YahooSports . Good vet for a young team. Pistons still have cap space for trades and picks in the meantime
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) July 1, 2024
The Pistons interest in a reunion with Tobias Harris has been the worst kept secret since about December, but there was not a ton of certainty on whether Trajan Langdon had the same level of interest in Harris as the previous regime. Based on some of his comments about wanting to add shooting and guys that play smart and don’t turn over the ball a ton, you could connect the dots to Harris fitting.
People may laugh at the deal due to Tobias Harris’ very notable playoff struggles this season, especially in the elimination game for the 76ers where he scored 0 points, but he is a solid player who provides what the Pistons badly need.
Harris averaged 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game last season with the 76ers and shot 35 percent from beyond the arc, which was his lowest mark since 2016-2017. He is a reliable player who does not miss a ton of games, which in itself presents value to a Pistons team that has had a lot of veterans miss games the last few seasons.
At the end of the day, Tobias Harris is a player that slots in at Power Forward, is a good shooter, good locker room guy, and low maintenance player, which are all things this team needs badly. The contract may be a bit rich for some people’s liking, but you also have to pay to get players to sign with a team that just won 14 games.
The Pistons should have around $25 million in cap space left after this deal, but that is dependent on how the contract is structured.
Further updates will come when more information is available on the Harris contract.