Tobias Harris has found a new identity in his second stint with the Pistons: Unc. And the Pistons hope he keeps it.
With Harris set to be a free agent this summer, Pistons president Trajan Langdon raved about his impact over the last two years as a leader on and off the floor and said the Pistons would like to bring him back.
"It’s hard to put into words what he has done for this organization and for our young players," Langdon said Tuesday. "They call him Unc for a reason. He comes in and he leads in a variety of ways that nobody will ever see or ever feel, but our guys do, and we do as an organization every day. We appreciate everything that he’s brought and yeah, we hope that we can bring him back. He’s somebody that we want to keep in a Pistons uniform."
Harris is also coming off a highly productive scoring run in the playoffs, putting up 20 points in eight straight games and helping the Pistons reach the second round before his legs appeared to tire late in round two. He averaged 13.3 points and shot about 37 percent from three in 63 games this season.
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"I thought he played some of his best basketball with us in these postseason games," said Langdon. "But his approach, his professionalism has been huge in terms of us establishing our environment the past two years. There’s not a day that he doesn’t come to work, not a day that he doesn’t do extra work pre-practice, post-practice. He’s obviously in the community, one of the finalists for the Community Assist Award for the league. We’re very proud of what he does, for us, for this organization, for this city, and he’s very proud of it as well."
Coming off a two-year, $52 million deal, Harris will almost certainly have to accept less if he intends to return. The Pistons have a big new deal to get done for All-Star center Jalen Duren and an extension on the horizon for Ausar Thompson, plus other pieces to add this summer.
Harris turns 34 this summer. His next NBA season will be his 16th. He returned to Detroit two years ago to help the Pistons back to the playoffs. He achieved that goal.
Surely, he would like to help them take the next step.
