Team: Detroit Pistons / Motor City Cruise · Age: 26 · Position: SG · As of: 2026-07-18
2026-27 median projection
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 6.0 | .410 | .700 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Nine-cat: no-draft; steals watch on call-up days. Points: D-. Dynasty: 4.0/10.
Role and evidence
Detroit's NBA player page records his July 9 two-way signing after Utah declined its option. It also displays a 6.8-point, 2.0-rebound, 2.9-assist NBA baseline and notes that a hamstring injury kept him out of Utah's regular-season finale.
Harkless pressures the ball and can handle secondary possessions, which differentiates him from pure shooter call-ups. Cunningham, Jenkins, Okorie, Joe, Huerter, Harris, and Green nevertheless create a long path to minutes. The hamstring is treated as a modest availability flag until camp confirms full clearance.
Range
- Ceiling: 15 MPG during a guard injury wave, with a steal and two-plus assists.
- Floor: mostly Motor City minutes or loss of the two-way slot in camp churn.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Five college seasons — Cal State Northridge (2018-20: 8.1 PTS, 4.5 REB in 51 games), Oklahoma (2020-22: 9.1 PTS, 4.7 REB in 49 games), UNLV (2022-23: 19.1 PTS, 5.1 REB, 3.4 AST in 32 starts). Draft: undrafted (2023). G League route after: Ontario Clippers 2023-24 (11.6 PPG in 20 games), then a 2024-25 leap with San Diego/Salt Lake City — 26.9 PTS, 5.3 REB, 4.4 AST, 1.3 STL on .447/.419/.745 in 19 games — that won him 2024-25 G League Most Improved Player and All-NBA G League Second Team, plus a January 2025 Utah two-way.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 24 | UTA | 10 | 13.8 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | — | .314 | .500 | 0.3 |
| 2025-26 | 25 | UTA | 26 | 21.0 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | — | .335 | .766 | 1.0 |
| Career | — | — | 36 | 19.0 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | — | .332 | .743 | 0.8 |
(3PM/G not published in the season splits used; his NBA 3P% is .248 career — 28.0% in 2024-25, 23.9% in 2025-26.)
Durability: No structural injury history; the only flag is the hamstring strain that ended his 2025-26 season at Utah's finale. Low NBA GP totals reflect two-way status, not health.
Trajectory: The record is a classic two-way defender's split screen: dominant G League scorer (26.9 PPG, MIP) whose NBA translation so far is steals and secondary playmaking on untenable shooting (.332 FG, .248 3P in 36 NBA games). In 2026-27 he competes for the emergency-guard call-up role behind Detroit's seven-deep perimeter group, with most minutes coming for Motor City. He becomes fantasy-relevant only in deep leagues during a Pistons guard injury wave, and only if his NBA three-point shooting climbs toward 33% — the single stat gating his minutes.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · Wikipedia · G League MIP release
Open questions
- Is Harkless fully recovered from the April hamstring issue?
- Which existing two-way player is displaced to fit him and Onyenso?
- Can he shoot well enough to share second-unit possessions with Okorie?