Is Trading Joe Harris a Possibility for Brooklyn?
With the NBA season in full swing, it is officially that time of year when fans get to speculate about potential trades. Sean Marks and the rest of the Brooklyn Nets front office have shown the guts in the past to pull off solid trades, and the next few weeks should be no exception.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the more perplexing teams in the NBA. After getting off to a slow start, the Thunder have failed to make the proverbial leap many pundits expected with the new additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. While much of this is due to Russell Westbrook’s ball dominant style of play, the Thunder also lack shooting. Frankly, the Thunder have failed to click offensively, ranking 20th in field goal percentage and 23th in three point percentage. The Brooklyn Nets should look to capitalize on the Thunder’s dire situation.
Since Allen Crabbe’s contract essentially removes him from any trade situation, the Nets’ may be forced to trade their other three point sniper. Harris is having a career year, averaging 10 points per game on 46.8/38.4/77.6 splits. While these numbers may drop a bit in Oklahoma City due their lack of a motion offense, Harris would still immediately become the 2nd or 3rd best shooter on the roster.
In order for this trade to go through, the Thunder will have to give up one of their future picks. Unfortunately for the Nets, the Thunder do not have a first round pick available to trade until the 2021 Draft. However, they do have two second round picks in the upcoming draft. In order to properly balance this trade, the Nets would have to center their return around these picks; maybe something along the lines of a 2018 and 2019 second gets the deal done. Marks should shoot down anything besides this.
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In order to balance the salary of Harris without giving any key pieces, Kyle Singler looks like the ideal trade candidate. Singler has not been able to carve out a substantial role in Oklahoma City since they drafted him in 2011. He has just seen 44 minutes over eight games this year. While Singler’s contract is by no means an atrocity, it isn’t exactly the most forgiving either. He is slated to make just under 15 million over the next three years. But, he does have a team option prior to the 2019-2020 season.
If this trade happens, it means the Nets are essentially giving up any chance of sneaking into the playoffs. While Singler will struggle to find minutes, trading away Harris could allow for talent such as Nik Stauskas to develop into a key rotation pieces going forward. Regardless, keep your eyes open for any potential moves from Marks and Co. as the trade deadline approaches.