The Detroit Pistons escaped their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic , a trick they never would have pulled off without veteran Tobias Harris.
Harris has been much-maligned for his playoff duds in the past even though the reality never matched up to the narrative. Harris has actually been the pinnacle of consistency in the playoffs, just as he has been in the regular season, and stepped into an even larger role in the first round than he has in the past.
Harris' name was also all over trade deadline rumors, as he was the Pistons' only big expiring contract, so just about every pipe dream for guys like Michael Porter Jr. (I guarantee the Pistons would be heading to Cancun if they made that trade) when the Pistons never gave any indication they were giong to use his $25 million expiring deal for a nebulous upgrade.
There has been much made about the Pistons' need for a second creator and scorer, and that hasn't changed but the Pistons had good reason not to use Tobias Harris to try and find one.
The trade wasn't there for the Pistons and they need Tobias Harris
The problem the Pistons faced is that they didn't have enough contracts to match for a big salary without using Harris, but couldn't afford to trade him for reasons that are now obvious.
The player coming back would have almost had to have been a power forward, as the Pistons had scarce depth behind Harris, and there was never such a player clearly available. Lauri Markkanen was off the trade block after Utah made the big swing for JJJ, Trey Murphy III was never made available and Nets were not even aggressively shopping Porter Jr.
And this wasn't all about the options, the Pistons value Harris as their security blanket and the guy they can turn to for a big hoop, which he provided all series, punctuating it with five straight 20+ point performances and a 30-point game seven.
Harris gives this young team a sense of calm, and even though he was broke from 3-point range for most of the series, he did everything else well, from playing solid defense, grabbing rebounds and aggressively attacking the rim.
I know there was a lot of disappointment when the Pistons didn't add much at the trade deadline, and I get it, but this team was not one move away if that move involved trading Harris, as the upgrade was not available and they needed his scoring and leadership.
This doesn't totally vindicate Langdon for his lack of action, as there were other players he might have pursued, but he was right to make Tobias Harris off limits for anything less than a slam dunk trade and that move wasn't there.
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