Nets Would Land $125 Million Big Man in Proposed Deal Headlined by Joe Harris

Getty Joe Harris #12 of the Brooklyn Nets jogs on the court during the first half against the Toronto Raptors

The Brooklyn Nets are expected to be active in the upcoming trade market. They have been said to possibly be showcasing players to increase their trade value in recent games and are trying to make the most of the final season Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are under contract, with Kyrie’s contract expiring this offseason. One player that the Nets have been linked to is John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks, and recently, an NBA executive revealed what Atlanta’s asking price could be from the Nets, and it starts with their sharpshooting guard Joe Harris. 

Eastern Conference Executive on Hawks Asking Price

The executive told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that Joe Harris and a draft pick would be the likely starting point for any deal that would include John Collins. The deal Deveney proposed goes as follows. 

Brooklyn Nets Receive: John Collins

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Day’Ron Sharpe, Joe Harris, and a 2027 first-round pick.

“Anything that Brooklyn would be able to do is going to cost them Joe Harris and that pick, you have to figure. They have been reluctant to move Harris, but if they’re going to do something significant, they will need his contract. (Collins) could help the Nets, he takes a lot of offensive pressure off KD (Kevin Durant). It could be this is as good as the Hawks are going to get. They need shooting, and they need defense, but they probably are not going to get both in a deal,” the executive told Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney. 

Other Joe Harris Trade Rumors

While the executive noted Brooklyn’s reluctance to trade Harris this season, a league source said the Nets were hoping to deal Harris, according to a November report from Ric Bucher of Fox Sports. 

“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. 

Harris has had a decent return to injury this season and is averaging 8.6 points, 3 rebounds, and is shooting 37.2 percent from three point range. Down from his career average of 43.5 percent from deep. Could this help inspire the team to move on from Harris? One league executive predicted that Brooklyn would move on from Harris or their other sharpshooting guard Seth Curry. 

Nets Likely to Trade Seth Curry or Joe Harris

Before the season, a league executive told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that the Nets were likely to move on from one of their shooting guards, whether it is Harris or Curry, would depend on how the season goes. However, all signs seem to be suggesting that it is Harris that could be on the move. 

“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.