Pistons Get: Tobias Harris F
Magic Get: Brandon Jennings G, Ersan Ilyasova F
Pistons
Stan Van is surely working some magic in Detroit. Like he seriously may have a voodoo doll of every NBA GM in his office. At last year’s trade deadline, the Pistons were somehow able to turn D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and a 2nd rounder into Reggie Jackson.
This year, the Pistons look like early winners of the NBA trade deadline again. They were able to swing the perennially overrated Jennings, and the solid, but limited Ilyasova for a 23-year old rising star in Tobias Harris.
With Reggie Jackson locked in as the Pistons floor general, the shot happy Jennings was a popular candidate to get dealt by Thursday’s deadline. Add in the fact that Jennings is in the final year of his contract, capable of commanding upwards of $13 million per year this offseason, and suddenly his departure seemed inevitable.
The expectation was the Pistons would float Jennings out for a first rounder until the deadline, before ultimately settling for a veteran, or two, who better fit their roster.
Instead the basketball gods dropped a present in Van Gundy’s lap. The Pistons already have their distributor in Jackson and big man in Andre Drummond. What they have been clearly lacking this season, is a go to scorer on the wing.
Enter Orlando swingman Tobias Harris. Dubbed a “mini Melo”, Harris uses his size, strength and quickness to score from either forward spot. In Detroit, he will likely start at power forward in Van Gundy’s spread offense. While his numbers are down across the board this year, Harris proved to be a legitimate scoring threat in 2015, averaging 17.1 points per contest. He should be able to come in right away as the 3rd scoring option behind Jackson and Drummond.
But more important than anything is Harris’ youth and contract. It will allow him to be part of the young core Detroit is building. The projected Pistons starting lineup has an average age of 23.6 with Reggie Jackson (25), Kenvatius Caldwell-Pope (22), Marcus Morris (26), Tobias Harris (23) and Andre Drummond (22).
In an interview just last month, Van Gundy talked about making continuity a priority going forward.
“Looking forward, one of the things we talked about in trying to build this team is we have continuity,” he said. “That’s got to be weighed in any personnel moves. It would have to be a major jump up in talent for us to give up what we think we’re building in continuity.”
Harris certainly is a jump up in talent. This unit should be together for the long haul.
Grade – A
Magic
There is only one certainty I can garner from this move. The Magic are ready to spend the money necessary to retain the services of Evan Fournier this offseason.
Outside of that, I can’t rule out the possibility that Magic GM Rob Hennigan made this trade with the same motives I have when eating an entire sleeve of saltines – boredom.
Seriously, I wish I could explain this trade without pulling the “Jennings played for Skiles in Milwaukee and has familiarity with him” card.
There is the distinct possibility that after going 4-16 in their last 20 games, Rob Hennigan felt pressure to make a move. After all, the Magic got off to an unexpectedly hot start, going 19-13 and holding onto the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference for dear life. Fast forward a month and half, and the Magic are 4.5 games back of the 8th seed. That expedition of losing could get anyone to blink.
Perhaps the Magic had long internal discussions and decided that Harris was not a fit in their long-term plans. After all, their cupboards are brimming with young talent at the wing positions. In addition to Harris, the Magic have Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo logging 30+ minutes per game, with 2nd-year dunking phenom Aaron Gordon and rookie sensation Mario Hezonja chomping at the bit for court time. Sometimes you need to trim the hedges to let the flowers get some sunshine and grow.
Either would be understable reasons for deciding to part ways with Tobias Harris.
But the Magic are holding the golden ticket – a 23-year old scoring forward, under contract until 2019. There is absolutely no rush to trade Harris. You can dangle him up until the 11th hour of the deadline and survey the best offer. If that offer isn’t enticing enough, wait until the offseason and reevaluate.
What is completely inexcusable, is the value they got back for Harris. The main asset coming back to Orlando is a score-first point guard who has a career field goal percentage of 39.1%. Jennings has only played 64 of his last 136 eligible games after rupturing his Achilles last season (not an easy injury to recover from, just ask Kobe or Wes Matthews). Not to mention, Jennings is a free agent at the end of this year, who could very well end up making the same amount as Harris in an inflated market this summer.
And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, the Magic already have their point guard of the future. A 21-year old, 6’4″ point guard named Elfrid Payton. He’s a better defender and passer than Brandon Jennings, with equally putrid (but improving) scoring efficiency.
The Magic should have netted a first round pick out of any Tobias Harris trade. At the very least, they deserved a better veteran player, on a longer contract, than Brandon Jennings.
Grade – D