Tobias Harris Upgrades Detroit Pistons’ Frontcourt & Their Future

Photos by Kirthmon F. Dozier for The Detroit Free Press

By acquiring Tobias Harris on Tuesday before the trade deadline, the Detroit Pistons added yet another long, athletic piece to an already strong young core.

Plus, they only had to give up Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, two players who were clearly not a part of the Pistons’ future. Jennings’ contract expires at the end of this season and the point guard was unlikely to re-sign with Detroit after the Pistons signed Reggie Jackson to be the starter last summer. Ilyasova is signed only through next year and, while he was a nice stop-gap for this season at power forward, he doesn’t have much in the way of potential.  

By contrast to Jennings and Ilyasova, Tobias Harris is 23 and signed through he 2018-19 season, fits well into Stan Van Gundy’s system, and provides great versatility to the Pistons on both ends of the floor. Entering the trade deadline, the Pistons were missing one major piece to their starting lineup: a long-term power forward who can space the floor and cover multiple positions. In Tobias Harris, the Pistons have found that missing piece.

At first glance, Harris’ stats look eminently average. His career scoring efficiency is right around league-average, as are his assist, rebounding, and defensive numbers. Frankly, if Harris was coming out of college with those numbers, he wouldn’t be much of a prospect. He would be a wing who is solid at everything but a master of nothing, a combination that doesn’t seem to translate well to the NBA. But, we’re not talking about a college prospect. This is a 23-year-old NBA player who is putting up respectable numbers at the NBA level. That’s an encouraging sign that indicates, at the very least, that Harris can be a productive NBA starter for years to come.

Adding a young, productive NBA starter is exactly what the Pistons needed to do. Ultimately, the Pistons’ future rises and falls on Andre Drummond. Drummond is an immensely talented center whose size and athleticism allows him to thrive in the pick and roll, the play that is the foundation of much of the modern NBA offense. Last offseason, the Pistons added Reggie Jackson, a point guard who is nearly as good in the pick and roll and is often unstoppable in terms of getting to the rim. With that core, the Pistons needed simply to add wing players around them who are versatile defensively and can space the floor offensively. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson are that type of wing player and now the Pistons have added Tobias Harris at power forward to that mix.

Harris fits into the Pistons’ future perfectly in terms of both position and age, but he also fits in very well in their scheme. Alongside Jackson, Caldwell-Pope and Johnson, Harris provides the Pistons with additional length defensively and the ability to switch on screens at pretty much every position. Harris is quick enough to defend smaller guards if forced to switch, something that the Pistons have struggled doing with slower power forwards like Ilyasova and Anthony Tolliver.  

Although the NBA is trending towards smaller power forwards, Harris, listed at 6'9 and 235, is more than big and strong enough to defend larger power forwards in the post.

Offensively, Harris is not a great outside shooter, but he is serviceable. Perhaps more importantly, he is a very willing shooter, much like KCP and Stanley Johnson. While analysis of how good a team’s spacing is most often revolves around shooting numbers, a player’s willingness to shoot open jumpers is just as important. Harris adds yet another willing shooter who will force teams to close out off of ball movement created by the Jackson/Drummond pick-and-roll.

When teams close out too hard, Harris has the ability to put the ball on the floor and punish reckless close-outs. When Harris isn’t spotting up, he is a capable pick-and-roll ball handler who can fill in when Reggie Jackson is on the bench. When Jackson is on the floor, Harris is a dangerous cutter, shooting 67% on those type of plays this year according to NBA’s Synergy stats. Harris’ ability to move without the ball is something that an often stagnant Pistons offense desperately needs. And they’ve added that dimension to their offense, both now and in the future, without sacrificing any major pieces.

When he’s not on the floor, Harris adds to a group of high-character players in Detroit. As Zach Lowe noted Wednesday, one of Harris’ best attributes is his ability to recognize his faults and subsequent work ethic in fixing those faults. Harris also will be a big addition to the Detroit community in the middle of a revitalization movement for the city.

Both on and off the court, Tobias Harris is a terrific addition to the Detroit Pistons. He secures a young core and adds to the team’s length, athleticism, and versatility on both ends. Stan Van Gundy can now spend more time on his coaching duties and less on being a GM, and the Pistons’ long term future looks extremely bright, as a result.