The Detroit Pistons made an under the radar move to pick up Elijah Harkless during the offseason, but it’s a heady addition that could pay dividends down the line
Rather than chasing superstars in the offseason, the Detroit Pistons chose to reshape their squad through calculated role player additions while cutting loose a few veterans that proved valuable over the last several seasons. The biggest change came to the frontcourt with Tobias Harris leaving for the San Antonio Spurs and stretch-four John Collins presumably taking his place in the starting lineup, but the Pistons made a few savvy moves to the backcourt as well.
In terms of low-risk, high-reward transactions, perhaps none rises to the level of Elijah Harkless after Detroit brought in the third-year UNLV product on a two-way deal earlier this summer.
Last season, Harkless dominated at the G-League level with the Salt Lake City Stars before earning a call-up in February to help out the Utah Jazz, and the tenacious two-way playmaker immediately made an impact on the team’s perimeter defense. During one particular matchup with the Denver Nuggets in early March, Harkless switched onto multi-time MVP Nikola Jokic for various passages of play, and despite the considerable size advantage Harkless was able to disrupt the superstar Serbian during their one-on-one battles.
After the Western Conference contest, Jazz coach Will Hardy lauded Harkless for his ability to play versatile defense against one of the game’s top scorers in Jokic.
”I think Elijah is our best defender,” Hardy said. “There have been some other teams in the league that have guarded Jokic with smalls, and it’s about trying to wear him down and make catches tough. If you know a good coverage for Jokic please email me, but he’s hard. He’s a tough cover because he’s seen it all and he’s picked it all apart. But it’s about trying to build a sense of fatigue as the game goes on because every catch is hard to get, but I also think that’s Elijah’s identity. That’s who he is. That’s who we need him to be, and I think when Elijah plays like that, it raises the level of the group.”
While Harkless won’t be expected to lock up All-NBA centers too often while in the Motor City, the Pistons know that he would give full effort if placed in that situation. Harkless plays a brand of resilient defense that wears an opponent down, and it’s a perfect match for the culture that the Pistons have created in Motown.
Once Detroit reconvenes for training camp later this month, Harkless will stake his claim for rotational minutes on the Pistons alongside a collection of other talented guards. The Pistons plucked point guard Ebuka Okorie from the first round of the draft, so he’s going to serve as stiff competition at the start of the season. Daniss Jenkins is another player that Harkless could be considered to be in competition with since the former could become an attractive low-cost trade piece at the deadline if the Pistons are comfortable with an Okorie-Harkless depth chart behind Cade Cunningham at point guard.
Since Harkless is on a two-way deal, the Pistons have the option to start him out in the G-League with the Motor City Cruise, then Detroit could call him up depending on how the season progresses from a performance and injury standpoint.
