Getty Kyrie Irving #11 and Joe Harris #12 of the Brooklyn Nets celebrate against the Washington Wizards during their game at Barclays Center
The Brooklyn Nets made the decision to give their young big men Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe an opportunity to prove themselves before seeking outside talent this season. Claxton has been impressive this season. However, Sharpe until December 10 had been sent to Brooklyn’s G-League affiliate before being called up for a career-high tying 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 block performance against the Indiana Pacers.
While both have proven themselves at different times, the Nets have still been linked to potential upgrades and one of them being John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks, but according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Atlanta remains hesitant to take on the contract of Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris in the deal.
“Meanwhile, the Hawks have had several teams in the Collins market, such as Utah, Washington, Brooklyn, and Dallas, sources said. Atlanta has not shown interest so far in a potential framework that would contain Brooklyn’s Joe Harris, those sources said,” Charania wrote for The Athletic.
John Collins on Hawks Trade Block
Collins has been a piece that the Hawks have been looking to move almost since he signed his five-year $125 million contract two years ago. That contract has made him a harder player to move, but some believe there is potential for a trade to get done ahead of February’s trade deadline.
“The Hawks have opened up preliminary trade discussions around forward John Collins, as interested teams inquire, league sources tell The Athletic. The Suns are a team showing desire in Collins, those sources have added, but they appear uninclined to take on the long-term money of Collins, who is in the second season of a five-year, $125 million contract. The Hawks don’t have an imminent deal in place involving Collins, those sources say, and executives around the league believe a potential deal will be weeks and potentially months in the making ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline,” Charania wrote in November.
Nets Looking to Move Joe Harris This Season
The news that the Hawks have refused to take on the contract of Joe Harris proves the report that one league executive told Heavy Sports ahead of the season that the Nets are likely to move on from Harris or another Nets sharpshooter, Seth Curry.
“One of them [Curry or Harris] will get dealt before the deadline. That would be my guess. Both are really good shooters, obviously, that is their skill. But both are bad defenders who will be targeted in the playoffs. Obviously, finding a new home for either guy has not been the priority for them this summer so, no, they have not really had talks about a deal for either guy so far.
But I suspect they’ll want to come out and see how healthy Harris is, see if he is back to his old form, then they may start to figure out what they can get for him vs. what they can get for Curry. Harris has more value if he can show he is healthy — he is not as poor a defender as Curry. If they’re going to try to make a deep playoff run, Harris is more likely the one they’d keep,” the executive told Heavy.
That has also been confirmed by Fox Sports NBA Insider Ric Bucher, reporting that the Nets hope to move Harris this season.
“Both the Lakers and Nets are among the top five teams in player payroll this season. Both are also subject to a hefty luxury tax for having repeatedly gone over the threshold the last few years. That’s why the Nets, league sources said, also hope to move long-range shooter Joe Harris, who is set to make $18 million this year and $19 million next season,” Bucher wrote.