The Pistons will waive veteran forward Joe Harris, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Acquired from Brooklyn along with a couple of second-round picks in a salary-dump trade last summer, Harris didn’t play much in Detroit this season, averaging just 2.4 points per game in 16 appearances (10.6 MPG), with a .359/.333/.500 shooting line. The 32-year-old was one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters for several years with the Nets, but ankle issues have slowed him down in recent seasons.
The Pistons have reached three separate trade agreements in the last 24 hours that will see them acquire seven total players while sending out just three, so some cuts were necessary.
If Detroit plans to waive Danuel House, Shake Milton and Troy Brown after acquiring them from Philadelphia and Minnesota, respectively, Harris is the only player from the current roster who would need to be released — the Pistons could complete those trades one at a time and waive players as they go, creating enough roster space to finalize their two-for-four deal with New York.
However, if the Pistons intend to keep one or more players from that House/Milton/Brown group or if they want to complete the Knicks trade first, at least one more cut will be necessary.
Once Harris clears waivers, he won’t be eligible to sign the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Bucks or Suns due to the new rule prohibiting teams whose salaries are above the first tax apron from signing a player whose pre-waiver salary exceeded the mid-level exception ($12.4M). Harris’ salary for this season is $19.9M.
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