Tobias Harris Is 'Progressing' and Back on the Court, but the Spurs Will Stay Conservative With His Calf
San Antonio's only major free-agent signing has missed the preseason and the first five games with a strained left calf. Coach Mitch Johnson says Harris is doing work on the court — and that the team will not rush him.
The San Antonio Spurs' only major free-agent signing has yet to play a minute for them. Tobias Harris, who agreed to a two-year, $31 million deal to leave Detroit this summer, ESPN's Shams Charania reported, strained his left calf in training camp, missed the entire preseason and has missed the first five games of the regular season, Heavy reported Thursday in a piece read in full this run.
Head coach Mitch Johnson gave the update to the San Antonio Express-News' Tom Orsborn before Wednesday's game at Utah: Harris is "progressing" and "doing some stuff on the court," inching closer to a return, but the Spurs will be "conservative" with him. "It's a tough one," Johnson said. "I understand he wants to be out there, and he's getting closer, and it's just something that we will be, unfortunately, conservative with. So when he's ready to go, he'll be ready to go."
In Harris' absence Johnson has run a four-guard lineup — De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell — alongside Victor Wembanyama, with Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson as mainstays off the bench. The smaller group has carried San Antonio to three straight wins. The homestand that opens Saturday against Minnesota is the next window to watch for a debut, but on Johnson's telling, the calf — not the calendar — will decide it.
