If you’ve looked at any of the myriad fake trades that involve the Detroit Pistons, you’ll notice a common element, which is that Tobias Harris is in all of them.
The Pistons only have one player on a max deal in Cade Cunningham, so Tobias Harris, their second-highest paid guy and his deal is expiring after this season. It’s the latter part that could potentially make him interesting to teams looking to shed payroll and clear cap space.
And the way NBA trades work, the money has to match or be close, so if the Pistons want a star player in a trade, they will almost have to include Harris, as it would be difficult to stack enough matching salary otherwise.