The Detroit Pistons have failed to take a big step forward this offseason. Despite a desperate need for roster upgrades to bring themselves to title contention, the Pistons opted for smaller moves. The biggest move they made was to replace Tobias Harris with John Collins. Regardless of how Collins performs in Detroit, there is a very good chance the Pistons will regret letting Harris walk.
The Athletic's Hunter Patterson revealed the front office's thinking about the free agency of Harris. Even though they wanted to keep him, GM Trajan Landon & Co. reportedly thought that the veteran forward had played himself out of Detroit's market. After internal discussions and a brief meeting with Harris, the Pistons decided that they were too far apart and pivoted to find a replacement for Harris.
Pistons could and should have re-signed Tobias Harris
This is a surprising report given the contract Harris signed with the San Antonio Spurs. The 34-year-old forward landed a two-year, $31 million deal in San Antonio. Considering how Harris was arguably Detroit's second-best player in the playoffs, $15.5 million per year would have been a justified contract. Labeling this type of contract as Harris "playing himself out of their market" makes little sense.
It's not like the Pistons don't have the cap flexibility. As things stand now, they are $46 million under the luxury tax. Sure, fitting both Harris and Jalen Duren under the luxury tax may not have been possible, but why would a contender not want to dip a little into the tax?
Also, if they perhaps hadn't given Kevin Huerter a three-year, $27 million deal for no reason, then they could have had the room to fit both Duren and Harris under the luxury tax.
It's not like they signed John Collins for any less. He signed a three-year, $51 million contract. The appealing part of that deal is the non-guarantees in the second and third year, but it's still more money for next season. The Pistons may have preferred Collins over Harris because of the age difference, but there is no guarantee that the former will play better than the latter next season.
Plus, it wasn't a binary decision. The Pistons could have had both players. The power forward depth was a problem for Detroit over the last two seasons. They didn't address that need whatsoever. If anything, by also moving on from Isaiah Stewart, they got significantly thinner in the frontcourt.
The framing of the Pistons' Harris decision is inaccurate. The Pistons could have kept Harris and still signed Collins.
Why this was a mistake will be made evident when Harris makes a big impact in San Antonio. The Spurs also needed more forward depth. Their playoff rotation consisted of three elite guards and Victor Wembanyama, and very little depth on the wing. Harris fits there like a glove and will make a difference with this two-way play.
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