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As Pistons fans around the world got into the rush of Free Agency Week with roughly $30 million in cap spaces, they fell asleep wondering how Detroit might spend its money.
Cam Johnson? Jerami Grant? Harrison Barnes? A trade for a disgruntled star?
You dozed off thinking about one of those names and outcomes. It’s only natural.
Well, just hours before the free hand was supposed to unofficially begin, the Pistons struck. But not in the way you dreamed or prayed. On Friday afternoon, The Nets traded sniping Joe Harris and his expiring $20 million contract as well as two future second-round picks to the Pistons, league sources tell The Athletic. Detroit must send either $110,000 in cash or a top-55 protected future second-round pick under league rules. According to team sources, no players will be sent from Detroit to Brooklyn.
Aside from Harris, a 43.7 percent career 3-point shooter who put on a serve the Pistons needed more of, the addition of the 31-year-old forward shrinks the $30 million chapter space that Detroit is at the official opening of the Free Agency. Barring other trades, the Pistons are looking at nearly $10 million in cap space to play out the rest of the game.
For most of you I’m sure the addition of Harris, who only played 14 games two seasons ago due to a serious ankle injury and jumped into last season due to his recovery, is the ultimate buzz kill, especially, because it frees up more money for the team, the Nets are keeping Johnson, which many Pistons fans have been clamoring for so much. Johnson is expected to sign a deal this summer that will net him a total of between $90 million and $100 million. Johnson, 27, is talented. It is the prototypical 3 and D wing. However, Detroit obviously had no interest in making such a commitment to a frequently injured player who, to be fair, is just a role player and regularly plays 60 games a season.
Some of you will be angry. Some of you may boycott. Understandable.
However, if you want to settle down for a moment and really think outside the box, it’s a move by an organization that’s more focused on the big picture than winning the press conference. The Pistons of the last decade would have paid too much and hired several years for Johnson, who in turn is just a role player. The pistons of the last decade are why the current regime needs to be extra careful now.
Detroit has ambitions to turn things around next season. That’s no secret. The Pistons would love to be in the hunt for the play-in tournament, and yes, Johnson could have helped make that happen. Despite this, Detroit realizes that it is not in a position to give a role player that much money. It doesn’t even have stars. The Pistons hope Cade Cunningham becomes a star. They hope Jaden Ivey becomes a star. They hope it can be Jalen Duren or Ausar Thompson. You hope as you hope. You believe as you believe. But it hasn’t happened yet. If the Pistons were going to surprise some people next season, it would always be because one or two of the names above would have started their rise to stardom. Not because Johnson was here.
By choosing Harris over Johnson, Grant, or Barnes, Detroit gets the gunplay it needs. It gets more wing depth. He also has about $20 million at his disposal for the next free agency period, when the player pool is larger and far more interesting. The Pistons retain the flexibility of being a player if a star becomes available. Detroit could easily hit at least $60 million in cap space next season. You talk about money, no matter who you are.
Then there’s the other caveat related to why the Pistons picked Harris over Johnson: Monty Williams. Detroit’s new coach used to be Johnson’s old coach in Phoenix. If anyone had any information about Johnson’s future health and whether it would make sense to provide long-term funding, Williams would know. Yes, Harris has had an injury problem of his own lately, but he was still productive last season and has just one year left on his contract. Johnson has only played more than 65 games in a season once in his four years.
Dealing with Harris doesn’t win Detroit press conference. Nobody says that. Harris is a good role player who provides exactly what the Pistons need. Needless to say, he is more. On the surface, Harris isn’t Johnson. The gap might not be that big, however, considering that to bring Johnson in, Detroit would need to strike a bigger deal and keep their fingers crossed that the injury fortunes are finally in the Pistons’ favor. With Harris on the roster, the Pistons can still get where they want to go. Again, it all depends on Cunningham, Ivey, Duren and others.
Detroit’s front office made this move with the big picture in mind. That’s what a recovery team should do. Otherwise you end up like the Pistons of the 2010s.
(Top Photo by Joe Harris: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)