The Brooklyn Nets made the right move to re-sign guard Joe Harris, who developed into a solid wing player since coming to the Nets in 2016.
Coming into free agency, the Brooklyn Nets had a decision to make on shooter Joe Harris. Coming off a career year where he averaged almost 11 points, shooting 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range, Harris was gaining lots of interest from teams.
I didn’t know at first whether the Nets would be able to keep him. His asking price was in the range of $6 million to $9 million a year and it wasn’t clear if the Nets would be willing to pay Harris the money or try and find his replacement for a cheaper deal.
The Nets agreed to a new deal with Harris on the first day of free agency for two years and $16 million. Though the deals can’t be finalized until Friday at the earliest, I am a huge fan of this deal for many reasons.
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For the better part of two years, Harris has been one of, if not the, best shooters on the Nets roster after signing as a free agent two years ago.
The former Virginia Cavalier, who played for Cleveland before signing with the Nets, has come into his own, outperforming most expectations people had of him before his Nets tenure.
Harris is also well liked by the Nets players and coaches. A gritty player who has improved on the defensive end as well as offensive end, Harris is becoming more than a shooter. as he was a consistent threat to drive the ball to the basket last season.
Harris came off the bench and started a few games for Brooklyn and was consistent and solid as a rock. Replacing him would’ve been hard because he does so many things well on the court.
I can admit that I was not a fan of Joe Harris when he start played for the Nets, but now I am a huge fan of Harris because of his work ethic, team-first mentality and willingness to do anything to win.
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The Nets did a good thing re-signing Harris to a fair deal and keeping some of the team in tact. Harris is not the big name free agent like LeBron James or Paul George, but he is an important piece to a Nets team that is trying to build a culture in Brooklyn.