The boring move would allow the Pistons to gamble

Re-signing Tobias Harris should be high atop the Detroit Pistons’ to-do list this summer, as he played an important role, and his reliability would allow Detroit to take bigger risks. 

Harris has been the epitome of consistency in his career, as he’s a guy who doesn’t get hurt much and will steadily give you around 15 points per game. He’s probably better suited as a bench option as this stage of his career, but Harris was excellent in the playoffs, and had the Pistons had a true second option, he would have been just fine in the starting five. 

That said, the Pistons could use an upgrade here, but that doesn’t mean they should let Harris walk, as bringing him back would allow them to take some bigger risks. 

Could the Detroit Pistons use Tobias Harris in a platoon? 

We’ve discussed myriad free agent and trade options at power forward, but nearly all of them have glaring red flags that the Pistons can’t ignore. 

The Denver Nuggets are a perfect example, as they have players like Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson who might be nice fits on the Pistons but have sketchy injury histories that make them too big a risk. 

But if the Pistons were to bring back Tobias Harris on a short-term deal, it would mitigate some of the risk presented by these other options, as you know Harris will be steady and can cover for someone in a pinch. 

As good as Harris was in the playoffs, if the Pistons upgraded his spot and brought him off the bench, he could potentially be a weapon as a bench scorer. Harris can still get buckets out of isolation and would eat up a lot of bench defenders. 

Instead of getting rid of veterans Harris and Duncan Robinson, the Pistons could upgrade their spots and move them to the bench, solving two problems at once.

The Pistons don’t need a superstar at power forward, but if they could add some 3-point shooting to go along with Harris’ mid-range game, they’d have a pretty good facsimile of one. 

The Pistons could take a bigger risk 

Players like Kristaps Porzingis (just an example) offer a ton of upside, but also a lot of risk, especially if you are counting on them to play 65+ games and be healthy for the playoffs. 

Having a reliable option like Harris would increase the chances of keeping a more injury-prone player healthy, which could make Trajan Langdon more comfortable with taking a gamble he might not take otherwise. 

The Pistons don't have a power forward on the roster 

I realize that the modern NBA is largely positionless, and you don’t need a traditional four, but if you have been watching the playoffs, it’s pretty clear that size is going to matter if you want to topple the Spurs or OKC. 

Playing Ron Holland and/or Ausar Thompson at the four is not a viable long-term option and takes away from what those two do best, which is shut down the perimeter. 

With Harris in limbo, the Pistons don’t have a power forward on the roster, so bringing him back should be a priority, even if Detroit plans on making other moves at the position. Brining back Harris may not be the exciting move, but it could set that move up.

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