Tobias Harris’s second chapter with the Detroit Pistons has officially closed, as he’s set to leave the Motor City after two years and suit up alongside Victor Wembanyama with the San Antonio Spurs.
On Wednesday, Harris inked a two-year deal worth $31 million with the Spurs, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. With that agreement, he heads to a Western Conference title-winning squad, bringing veteran presence to a youthful San Antonio group that bowed out to the New York Knicks in five games during the NBA Finals.
Tobias Harris’ Second Run With the Pistons
Across his final two seasons in Detroit, Harris took the court in 136 games, putting up averages of 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest. In contrast to his initial Pistons tenure which ran from 2015 to 2018 before he was shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers Harris this time around emerged as a genuine veteran anchor for a Detroit roster brimming with young talent.
When Harris returned to the Pistons for the 2024–25 campaign, the franchise was fresh off its most dismal season in team history, having finished 14–68. Thanks in large part to his guidance, Detroit transformed from the league’s bottom dweller into the Eastern Conference’s top seed within just two seasons.
In the playoffs, Harris was instrumental in the Pistons’ first-round comeback from a 3–1 deficit against the Orlando Magic, rattling off five consecutive 20-point outings. His finest showing of that stretch and arguably of the entire postseason came in Detroit’s series-clinching 116–94 Game 7 victory over Orlando, when he posted 30 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
Over the course of Detroit’s two playoff series matchups, against both the Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harris averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, ranking second on the team in all three categories behind only Cade Cunningham.
John Collins Now Slots In as Detroit’s Veteran Presence
With Harris relocating to San Antonio, former Clippers forward John Collins is poised to take over the veteran leadership mantle for the Pistons. Detroit and Collins came to terms on a three-year, $51 million contract Wednesday morning, marking the 10-year veteran’s fourth NBA stop.
This past season with the Clippers, Collins turned in averages of 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while connecting on 55.2 percent of his field-goal attempts. The question now becomes whether Collins can replicate the kind of influence Harris brought to the Pistons’ locker room and on-court performance.
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