On February 16, 2016, Harris was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Ersan İlyasova and Brandon Jennings.
He made his debut for the Pistons three days later, scoring 21 points off the bench in a 98–86 loss to the Washington Wizards.
The Pistons finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 44–38 record, earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2009.
However, in their first-round series against the first-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons were swept 4–0.

On December 23, 2016, Harris came off the bench for the first time in 2016–17 and subsequently scored a season-high 26 points in a 119–113 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
On March 11, 2017, he set a new season high with 28 points in a 112–92 win over the New York Knicks.

On October 25, 2017, Harris matched a career high with 34 points in a 122–101 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On November 13, 2017, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from Monday November 6 to Sunday November 12.
On December 26, 2017, he scored 21 of his 30 points in the first quarter of the Pistons' 107–83 win over the Indiana Pacers.
On February 16, 2016, Harris was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Ersan İlyasova and Brandon Jennings. He made his debut for the Pistons three days later, scoring 21 points off the bench in a 98–86 loss to the Washington Wizards. The Pistons finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 44–38 record, earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2009. However, in their first-round series against the first-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons were swept 4–0.
On December 23, 2016, Harris came off the bench for the first time in 2016–17 and subsequently scored a season-high 26 points in a 119–113 loss to the Golden State Warriors. On March 11, 2017, he set a new season high with 28 points in a 112–92 win over the New York Knicks.
On October 25, 2017, Harris matched a career high with 34 points in a 122–101 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On November 13, 2017, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from Monday November 6 to Sunday November 12. On December 26, 2017, he scored 21 of his 30 points in the first quarter of the Pistons' 107–83 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Tobias Harris