In one of the more surprising moves of the offseason so far, the Detroit Pistons didn’t bring back veteran Tobias Harris, who went to the Spurs instead.
The Pistons did land John Collins, who might be a better overall fit, but it was tough to lose Harris, who was a strong leader for the Pistons who stepped up big time in the playoffs.
It’s surprising because there did seem to be mutual interest in a return to Detroit after both JB Bickerstaff and Trajan Langdon publicly praised him and called him a priority.
Harris ultimately chose the Spurs, and his reasoning behind it was a parting shot at the Pistons whether he meant it to be or not.
Tobias Harris wants to chase rings
Harris was asked by HoopsHype why he ultimately chose San Antonio, and he said “The urgency to win a championship. It felt like both our goals aligned.”
Firstly, I don’t think Harris was taking a direct shot at the Pistons here. It’s a fact that the Spurs will be chasing titles for the foreseeable future, Harris is near the end of his career and wants to win one.
Also, Harris may not have had much choice in the matter, as the Pistons reportedly only offered him one guaranteed year and were prepared to move on if he wanted more. The details of the Collins contract make it far safer for the Pistons given that they are only on the hook for one year.
Even though I doubt Harris meant anything by his comments, it’s hard not to take it a certain way when looking at the Pistons’ offseason so far.
The Pistons have not made championship moves
The Spurs are closer to winning a title than the Pistons, and a guy like Tobias Harris will help their team get there. The Spurs already have all of their young stars in place, they’ve proven they are good fits, so even though Harris isn’t an All-Star, he’s a championship move for San Antonio.
The Pistons have added a bunch of good role players in Collins, Isaiah Joe and Kevin Huerter (sort of) but none of those are championship moves for a team that lacked ball handling and secondary creation.
There was nothing wrong with any of these moves, and I liked all of them, but they certainly aren’t the type of impact we expected from the Pistons.
The good news is that the offseason is far from over, and Trajan Langdon is clearly turning over every rock to find a way to add another impact player to his roster.
But if the goal is to win a title, the Pistons haven’t done anything that clearly puts them closer to that, so while Tobias Harris’ comments may have been innocent, they do put a spotlight on the offseason.
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