NBA
The Pistons welcome Tobias Harris back into the fold
The 31-year-old forward returns to the team where he spent two years and will work under new coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Tobias Harris is heading back to Motor City. The 31-year-old forward, who had been on the books with the Philadelphia 76ers since February 2019, has been picked up by his old team the Detroit Pistons in free agency, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed.
Tobi has agreed a two-year deal worth $52,000,000 with no team options. In the 2024-25 season, Harris will earn a base salary of $25,365,854 while carrying a cap hit of $25,365,854 and a dead cap value of $25,365,854.
Harris back with the Pistons
Harris first joined the Pistons in 2016 in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings. He made a total of 157 appearances and averaged around 17-18 points per game during his three seasons in Detroit. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in January 2018 with franchise player Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson moving in the opposite direction.
He was part of another multi-player trade the following year- the Sixers signed Tobi along with Boban Marjanović and Mike Scott in exchange for Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala and Landry Shamet in a pre-deadline deal. The 31-year-old spent the next five seasons in Philadelphia, averaging 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season.
A reunion has been on the cards for a while although Harris drew interest from the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans as he edged towards the end of his contracts with the Sixers.
With the move, the Pistons bring in much needed experience to their roster of upcoming talent, including Ron Holland II - the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Another factor which made the franchise lean towards Harris was his consistency. While he has had his fair share of time sidelined with injuries, he is much more reliable that other players of his age and experience - in the last five seasons, only once has he dipped under 70+ regular season games, playing 62 in 2020-21.