7 players the Detroit Pistons gave up on too soon

7 players the Detroit Pistons gave up on too soon

#5: Tobias Harris

The Detroit Pistons were finally on the good side of a lopsided trade when they acquired Tobias Harris from the Magic for practically nothing back in the 2015-16 season.

Harris was bucket getter from early in his career and continued in Detroit, where he averaged 16 and 18 points per game over parts of three seasons.

But then Harris was dealt as part of the massive package that landed Blake Griffin, a move that looked horrible at the time and proved to be so even though Griffin arguably had the best season of his career with the Pistons.

The problem was that it was only one season. After his magical 2018-19 season, Griffin fell off a cliff and was never the same guy again. Eventually the Pistons had to pay him to go away, buying out the last two years of his deal at a steep cost.

While Griffin was relegated to end of the bench role player, Harris just kept plugging away and doing what he does best, making shots, averaging right around 20 per game in the five seasons after being traded from Detroit.

Harris is still a key player on a very good team, averaging nearly 15 points per game, while Griffin barely plays for the Celtics. Griffin may have been the better player for one year, but Harris was the better investment and has been the better player since it happened.