It has been almost two years since Tobias Harris had played for the Philadelphia 76ers, but his name is still not an endearing one among the fanbase. A lot of people were desperate for the team to cut ties with him even when he was still in the early stages of that infamous albatross contract, and that sentiment only grew more intensely as his deal came close to expiring until it completely in the summer of 2024.
Harris then went on to stay in the East, albeit with a completely different team in Detroit, finding himself with a new two-year, $52 million deal. His first full season with the Pistons went just fine as he provided some much-needed stability and veteran presence for such a young team. However, that script has been flipped so far in this campaign.
Detroit is leading the East with a 9-2 slate so far, but none of that can really be attributed to Harris. He’s appeared in just six outings this season, missing their last five. But aside from his injury, he has been far from impressive in those games where he suited up — something which the 76ers know very well under the current operative context.
Pistons fans now see why 76ers fans wanted nothing to do with Tobias Harris
Harris is on the final year of his brief contract, and just like his latter seasons with the 76ers, he has turned in underwhelming numbers.
In 32.2 minutes per game, Harris has tallied 13.5 points, six rebounds, and 2.8 assists — counting stats which do not seem so bad to warrant a rant session. However, it is his shooting splits which deserve vindictive scrutiny, as he has only drained 39.4 percent of his shots, which includes a measly 28.6 percent success rate from beyond the three-point line.
The Pistons are clearly gunning to make a deep playoff run this season and then some. If Harris does not improve these numbers, there is more than sufficient reason for their coaching staff to look to other options to fill in the significant minutes he has been handed.
After all, Detroit is humming as of late, and their current identity predicated on being a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team stands to remain intact even without Harris being a part of the equation.
It’s not like Harris is also a perennial playoff riser, either. Sure, he did put up good numbers for Detroit in their six playoff games last season, but that is his usual MO — he can play well for stretches, but play badly for longer ones.
Of course, the 76ers cannot possibly root for a budding rival like the Pistons. But in this case, there is definitely some room for common understanding, especially if Tobias Harris keeps his disappearing act up.