The Detroit Pistons are adding a Spartan and all they had to do was trade a former Michigan star.
On Tuesday, Detroit made a deal that freed up some cap space and brought in a couple of sharpshooters, including a Michigan State fan favorite. The Pistons traded Caris LeVert and a couple of draft picks for former Spartan star Gary Harris and Taurean Prince. The move wasn’t exactly considered a blockbuster since all three guys involved in the deal are over 30 and are considered on the back-end of their careers, but it’s cool to see a Spartan-for-Wolverine trade.
Detroit did this for the cap space but it also needed some shooting help and Prince should provide that seeing as he shot over 43 percent from deep last season.
Harris, on the other hand, was lightly-used with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2025-26, averaging a career-low 2.7 points in just 13.8 minutes per game (second-lowest of his career). He did make about 41 percent of his threes but he’s been trending down over the past four years with the Magic and Bucks.
Since averaging 11.1 points in 2021-22, Harris has seen his production dip massively, going from 8.3 points to 6.9 to 3.0 and then a career-low 2.7 in 2025-26.
Although his production has essentially disappeared, he’s just 31 years old and may have needed a change of scenery to have a resurgence. He will be 32 by the start of the 2026-27 season and there’s always a possibility that he could be dealt again but Michigan State fans who double as Detroit Pistons fans are excited to see him come home to potentially finish his NBA career.
We love a good Michigan-Michigan State trade.
Gary Harris’ career has been a roller-coaster
After playing sparingly as a rookie for the Denver Nuggets, Harris earned himself a spot in the starting lineup for the next six season. He became a staple of Denver’s starting five before getting traded to the Orlando Magic in the middle of the 2020-21 season.
In Orlando, he saw his minutes hover between 25-30 and then he lost his spot in the starting lineup in 2023-24 only to play 96 total games over the next two seasons with the Magic and Bucks — and he started just five games in that span.
Injuries marred his promising career and he eventually became a non-factor over the past two seasons with the Magic and Bucks, averaging around 14 minutes per game which was 12 below his career average. He went from a starter on a contender in the Western Conference to an end-of-bench guy for a Bucks team that didn’t sniff the playoffs.
This trade to the Pistons could revive his career, or at least that’s the hope.
Spartan fans are looking forward to cheering for him once again as he replaces LeVert who underwhelmed during his time in Detroit. I don’t necessarily see him playing a huge role, but this change of scenery could do him some good.
Spartan alum Tom Gores is giving Harris a shot in Detroit.
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