Saying that the San Antonio Spurs overachieved this past season would be an understatement. Coming into the season, the Spurs’ projected win total over/under was 44.5 wins, with +6600 championship odds.
San Antonio meeting that over/under win mark would’ve placed them as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. If they had accomplished this, the majority of NBA fans would’ve called that a successful season for the team.
Instead, one of the youngest teams in the league would go on to finish with a 62-20 record, win the Western Conference, and make the NBA Finals. In the finals, they had a lead of twelve points or higher in each game of the series. But ultimately couldn’t out-execute the Knicks down the stretch and lost the series in five games.
After a season like this, in combination with their superstar player Victor Wembanyama, who’s already arguably the best player in the league, is still on his rookie deal. A lot of people thought the Spurs would make a big move this offseason to capitalize on Wembanyama being in the last year of his rookie contract.
In addition to emerging stars Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle being on their rookie deals for over the next two years. Whether that be trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo or more realistically trading for Kawhi Leonard this offseason. For more about Giannis being traded to the Heat, here is our breakdown of the trade.
Instead of going down this route, San Antonio decided to bet more on in-house development and trust their ability to find good complementary players in the draft. But the franchise decided to still make one outside addition.
This outside addition comes in the form of signing Tobias Harris to a two-year deal for thirty-one million. While this move may not be what some Spurs fans wanted, Harris’ impact on this team is better than it appears on the surface.
When you think of Tobias Harris, your first thought of him isn’t a player who’s a second option on a playoff team. But for the Pistons during this past playoff run, Harris had to scale up and essentially be their second option.
Detroit was desperate for any consistent offensive production outside of Cade Cunningham, with the struggles of Jalen Duren. Tobias, from game three of the first round to game three of the second round, filled the second option role better than anyone anticipated.
During this stretch of games, while playing thirty-six minutes a game,. Tobias averaged 22.5 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9% from the field and 38.5% on three-pointers. Eventually, he would taper off as Harris is more of a complementary guy instead of a player you can consistently count on to be your second option.
Harris provides midrange shot making and mismatch attacking out of the post, which became very valuable to the Pistons’ offense in these past playoffs. Giving them a release valve when their initial offensive action wasn’t working.
While the fifteen-year forward is only an above-average three-point shooter, his shooting from behind the arc can be up and down.
He’s still a shooter that defenses have to respect from the three-point line. On the other side of the floor, Tobias is nothing special, being only an above-average defender.
Harris is not making the Spurs’ defense even better, but they don’t need him to. San Antonio last season had the third-best defensive rating in the NBA. The former Piston can come in and just be a cog in an already elite defensive machine.
During this past playoff run, especially in the conference finals and the finals, it was clear the Spurs’ offense could seem lost and out of sorts at times. Tobias, with his midrange shot-making, and if he has a clear mismatch, they can give him the ball in the mid post, then he can attack and comfortably get into a midrange shot, which will help with this.
Also, as the playoffs went along, Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes became hard to trust to give consistent good minutes. The Sixth Man of the year winner in Johnson went from averaging 13.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.9% from the field, and 36.3% on three pointers during the regular season.
To drop all the way down to averages of 7.7 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.7% from the field, and 36.2% on three-pointers during the regular season. Barnes in the regular season averaged 9.9 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.6% from the field, and 38.8% on three-pointers.
In the playoffs, his averages dropped significantly to 2.3 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 33% from the field and 23.1% on three-pointers. Tobias will bring a forward option, which they can have significantly more trust in the postseason than Johnson and Barnes.
San Antonio bringing in Tobias Harris is a move that will get lost in the headlines but could end up being the most fruitful of any signing from this year’s free agency. Harris provides reliable scoring that can help stabilize the Spurs halfcourt offense.
A forward San Antion can have more trust in the playoffs. In addition to, a good veteran presence in the locker room for a young team that’s still trying to figure out how to win consistently in the postseason.
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