Trajan Langdon deserves a lot of credit for the renaissance the Detroit Pistons are currently enjoying.
HIs trades and signings have all been home runs and a big part of that success was tuning out the noise about players he identified as assets.
That’s especially true of Tobias Harris, who was surrounded by a cloud of negativity after playing poorly in the playoffs for Philly.
It’s easier to blame a role player on the way out the door than to point the finger at the real issue, and 76ers fans who were dancing in the streets when Harris was replaced by Paul George have watched a nightmare season unfold in front of them since.
Harris has been everything the Pistons needed when they signed him, a professional who gets buckets, is a great teammate and doesn’t take anything off the table.
Now that he’s not being made the scapegoat for everything that ails Philly, people have remembered that this guy is pretty good, a solid basketball player on both ends, who has been a big part of the Pistons’ success this season.
His re-birth is the perfect symbol for the Pistons’ season, as his perception and success were tainted by things out of his control, much like many of the young players in Detroit.
Tobias Harris and the young Detroit Pistons
The main reason Harris was so maligned in Philly was that he was making a ton of money. He signed a 5 year/$180 million max deal, so fans always had one eye on his salary and one on the box scores.
Harris averaged 17.6 points 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 378 games with Philadelphia, 351 of them after he signed his extension, which is nearly 100 games more than Joel Embiid played in that stretch if you are wondering.
But those aren’t superstar numbers and the guy was on a max deal, so fans held him to the standard of his contract, which overshadowed that he was actually good for them, a reliable scorer for 5+ seasons.
Just as Harris was overshadowed by his contract, the young Pistons were overshadowed by their coach and by an epic losing streak that put them in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons.
Monty Williams stunted the development of players like Jaden Ivey, and like Harris and his contract, it overshadowed their talent and potential.
Harris now looks like a great deal at $26 million per season, and no one is talking about trading the young players, who have all blossomed with a better coach and a better overall environment.
Fit matters. Chemistry matters. Coaching and leadership matter and there are times when narratives around players are more about the environment than the player, which was the case with Harris and the Pistons, who are now thriving with just a few tweaks to some names and numbers.