The Detroit Pistons are making a couple last-second moves before training camp opens up later this week
With Detroit Pistons Media Day arriving tomorrow and the start of training camp shortly thereafter, the team has made one final move in preparation of the pre-season— for now.
Without ever playing a game for the Motown squad, Gary Harris has been waived by the Pistons just before training camp opens up, which gives the veteran guard an opportunity to latch onto another team before the regular season.
During the summer, Gary Harris was part of a multi-player trade that sent Caris LeVert from the Motor City to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Harris and Taurean Prince. Eventually, that deal was included in a major six-team swap during the offseason that spanned several organizations and both conferences.
Last year, Harris was only able to suit up for 48 games for the Bucks during his lone campaign in the Central Division. Frequently, Harris was a healthy scratch on a Milwaukee outfit that was experiencing a great deal of turbulence and uncertainty, though he also suffered a minor lower body injury near the end of the regular season as well. In all, Harris' production fell to just 2.7 points per game, a career low, while logging roughly 14 minutes per night.
On the surface, the Pistons’ decision to waive Harris cuts the team from 15 guaranteed contracts to 14 right before training camp, which presumably clears the runway to sign restricted free agent Jalen Duren. Back when the LeVert-Harris-Prince trade was agreed to over the summer, there was speculation that Harris could be a casualty of the waiver wire if Detroit needed to squeeze some space out of their roster despite his 40% hit rate from three-point land last season.
As for Duren, the big man is still in limbo regarding his future. There is a chance that Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon steps up to the microphone tomorrow and informs the media of JD’s new long-term contract, but that is not the most likely scenario. Instead, Duren’s camp is reportedly still looking for a deal that’s more lucrative than the five-year, $200 million contract that’s currently on the table, so there might not be a resolution at the beginning of training camp after all.
Duren still has a couple days before the Oct. 1 qualifying offer deadline officially arrives, so there is still time for further discussion between the two sides. Additionally, the Pistons have the freedom to extend Duren’s QO deadline back all the way to March 1 if they so choose, but that appears to be among the least likely of outcomes.
If Duren doesn’t ink a new deal in time for the pre-season, the Pistons could open up their exhibition slate with Paul Reed as the squad’s de facto starting center. Detroit also has Tolu Smith on the depth chart after picking up former Virginia center Ugonna Onyenso in the second-round of the draft, so there are a couple big men waiting in the wings who would be ready to contribute as well.
