TOBIAS Harris

Harris did not play in the preseason. He logged 0.0 minutes against Utah on Oct. 12, against Phoenix on Oct. 14 and against Sacramento on Oct. 16. The Spurs lost to Utah and beat Phoenix and Sacramento, all without him. That means he has not played a game in a Spurs uniform yet. Even after he is cleared, he will be working his way into a new rotation with no exhibition reps. He will also be learning a new system on the fly. For a veteran with 15 seasons in the league, the adjustment should be manageable. Still, nobody should expect a full workload in his first few games back. The first sign of how the Spurs plan to use him will come when he is cleared.

Last season Harris played for Detroit. He appeared in 63 games and averaged 27.7 minutes. He put up 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game. He added 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks and turned it over just 1.0 time a game. He shot 46.9 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three and 86.6 percent at the line, with a 57.4 true shooting percentage. His usage rate was 18.1, which fits a player who scores without needing the ball much. His plus-minus was 5.8 a game. That profile is the case for him in San Antonio: an efficient forward who spaces the floor, hits his free throws and takes care of the ball.

Harris's last real minutes came in May against Cleveland. He opened with 20 points and 8 rebounds in 38.8 minutes in a win on May 5. He followed that with 21 points and 7 rebounds in another win on May 7. He scored 21 again on May 9 in a loss. He had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists on May 11, then 13 points in 39.7 minutes on May 13, both losses. Then his production fell off. He had 6 points in a May 15 win and 5 points with a minus-23 in the May 17 loss. The early games showed he can still carry a heavy scoring load in big minutes.

Harris is 34 years old and in his 15th season. He played his college ball at Tennessee. He is listed at 6-8 and 226 pounds, plays forward and wears No. 23 for the Spurs. His name has been in the notes columns all fall. A Southwest Notes roundup on Sept. 30 led with him. Another on Oct. 4, via Tom Orsborn, did the same. On Oct. 20, a Spurs Notes column via Orsborn listed Harris alongside Donovan, Wembanyama, Harper and Gillespie. Those are reports, not team announcements. For now, the update that matters is the medical one: day-to-day, out for the opener, with Oct. 23 as the target date.