Goodbye, Unc: Tobias Harris’ Pistons Legacy Will Live On

Goodbye, Tobias Harris. You will certainly be missed. While Jalen Duren’s restricted free agency has sucked up most of the oxygen this offseason, and the rumor mill was stuffed full of potential trades for star players that are unlikely to come to fruition, when I have talked to people who really know the team well, the biggest topic of conversation has been Tobias.

Harris is a former Piston for the second time after agreeing to a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs. The writing was already on the wall earlier Wednesday when it was reported that the Pistons signed Harris’ replacement after agreeing to terms with free agent John Collins.

If you want to understand how important Harris has been in his second tenure with the Detroit Pistons, just look at the comments about him from Pistons fans and compare that to the vitriol directed his way from the fans of his previous team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

That was just a quick search. I can tell you from personal experience, the vitriol of Sixers fans that sought me out just so they could vent their frustrations about Harris, even after he’d left the team, was intense.

Compare that to how Pistons fans are reacting to Harris’ departure — a mix of real sadness and immense respect. I know I feel it.

It’s not just that Harris played well for Detroit during the last two seasons here; it is because Pistons fans always knew what Harris was, and more importantly, what he wasn’t. So did Harris. There were no outsized expectations. The contract was still big — the ridicule of a bad team like Detroit giving Harris more than $25 million a season was everywhere. Critics saw a washed player getting a bag from a desperate team. But he wasn’t washed, and the money was right even if it was a sizeable payday.

But it wasn’t $180 million big. It wasn’t star player big. It was the contract given to an iron man, a working professional, and someone who can be counted on game-in and game-out to give what they can.

The Pistons’ offense catered to his preference for a mix of catch-and-shoot opportunities and workmanlike backdown isos in the post. He was never asked to breakdown his defender or score 25-plus a night. He was asked to steady a ship that was only used to rocky seas and to be available when called upon.

Detroit had the big men and wings that meant Harris didn’t need to grab 10 boards, and they had a balanced offensive system that meant his 13 points per game were just fine.

He wasn’t here to do more than that. He was here to be the professional in the locker room. To show a young team what preparation and keeping your body right looked like in practice. He was “Unc” not because he was in his mid-30s surrounded by a rotation was mostly a decade younger.

It was because he was wise.

That is what Detroit is going to miss most. (That and a player who could reliably get his own shot with the shot clock running down).

As sad as it is, the good news is that what Harris helped build in Detroit will outlast him. I know many smart Pistons fans who are worried. Worried about the locker room. Worried about the professionalism.

But that foundation he helped lay will outlive his time in Detroit. The talent infusion over the past two years was vital. The ability to put Cade Cunningham in a modern basketball system was critical. However, I think the most important ingredient to the huge turnaround has been the culture of this team. You don’t go from 14 wins to 44 to 60 just because you finally have three-point shooters on your roster. You get there because you’ve instilled an unshakeable belief and focus on what it means to win.

Someone needed to show the Pistons the way, and that is all Tobias. Now the Pistons know. And it is on them to take the next step. There job is to always remember the lessons “Unc” taught them and carry them forward as the talent gets deeper and the playoff runs get longer.

Thanks, Tobias. The Pistons wouldn’t be the Pistons without you.