Getty Joe Harris #12 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles past Seth Curry #31 of the Philadelphia 76ers
All summer long, the Brooklyn Nets were involved in trade rumors. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons were all featured in the trade rumors. However, no deals were able to get done, and the team will see what they have in their current big three for the first time. Simmons isn’t the only notable name making his return from injury, Joe Harris was officially cleared as the start of the season quickly approaches.
Harris and fellow sharpshooting guard Seth Curry both found themselves mentioned as supplementary picks in trade rumors for Durant and Irving. While no deal was able to get done involving Curry or Harris as a secondary piece, one NBA executive told Heavy.com that one of the two guards could be shopped later in the Nets season.
Eastern Conference Executive on Curry or Harris Trade Likelihood
In a conversation with Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney, one Eastern Conference Executive commented about the two sharpshooting Brooklyn guards and the likelihood that at least one of them gets traded. The exec noted that which guard they deal will likely depend on who they’d get the most value back for and how Harris returns from injury.
“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.
Last season Curry averaged almost 15 points per game while shooting nearly 47% from beyond the arc with the Nets. Curry could be a valuable trade asset for any team. In his last full season with the Nets, Harris averaged similar numbers scoring 14.1 points on over 47% shooting from deep for Brooklyn. While both give the Nets depth, they have such a similar game that the Nets could look and, according to the unnamed executive, will likely deal one of the two guards.
Joe Harris to be 100% for Season
The Nets were adament about not including Harris in any deal with the Los Angeles Laker or other teams this summer which could point to which guard may get the nod in trade possibilities this summer. Now, the star is expected to make his return from injury as training camp quickly approaches.
Harris’ agent spoke to his clients’ status going into the 2022-23 NBA season with the assurance that the sharpshooting guard is “feeling great.”
“He’s doing great,” Bartelstein told ESPN. “Feeling great, ready to roll.”