Getty Joe Harris celebrates a made three-point shot during the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2021.
After flaming out prematurely in last year’s playoffs, Sean Marks and the Brooklyn Nets front office have pulled off a number of surprising moves this summer in free agency.
Brooklyn started things off by re-signing Blake Griffin to a one-year deal.
Then the Nets secured a commitment from veteran point guard Patty Mills.
A longtime member of the San Antonio Spurs, he signed a two-year, $12-million deal to back up Kyrie Irving.
Glue guy and small-ball center Bruce Brown signed his $4.7-million qualifying offer, so he’ll be back next year, too.
But between all of those moves, Brooklyn also traded away Spencer Dinwiddie to the Washington Wizards.
His future with the team was likely severed as soon as he suffered his torn ACL, with only a three-game sample size from last season the basis for extension talks.
So, they traded him to DC and received some draft compensation in return.
But now, that leaves swiss army knife and three-point threat, Joe Harris, as the longest-tenured player on the team.
How long will that last?
Harris Struggled in Playoffs
No one’s chalking up the Brooklyn Nets’ second-round loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs up to Joe Harris, but the team’s most reliable player fell off in the postseason.
The 29-year old managed to post a 40% shooting percentage from deep but averaged just 11.2 points per game.
That may not seem like such a steep drop off from his 14.1 points per game in the regular season, but remember that James Harden and Kyrie Irving missed a combined six games in the second round.
There was an opportunity for Harris to step up, and he did anything but, shooting just 26% over the final five games.
All this comes, mind you, after he signed a four-year, $75-million deal last summer to stay in Brooklyn.
Harris’s performance in the playoffs led to speculation among Nets fans about his future with the franchise, given the team’s championship aspirations.
Now the team’s longest-tenured player, can Joe Harris bounce back next season?
Trust that all eyes within the Brooklyn Nets will be on the seven-year veteran.
Make or Break for Harris Next Season?
After making a slew of fringe roster moves in free agency, the Brooklyn Nets capped off their summer by signing Kevin Durant to a four-year, $198-million extension.
Now, the expectation is that Sean Marks and company will look to do the same with James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
Brooklyn’s ownership group is comfortable paying the tax bill that comes with keeping their Big Three together.
But if Joe Harris underperforms once again this year, that $18-million annually starts to look more and more avoidable.
Perhaps the Nets’ drafting of Cameron Thomas was a means of having insurance in case the starter slumps again.
The LSU product dubbed a “microwave scorer” out of college, averaged 27 points in the Las Vegas Summer League.
There’s no comparing the two, but what Harris does have going for him is his swiss army knife approach on offense.
But when Harden and Irving provide nearly 90% of the rest of his skill set, aren’t there other areas of the roster Brooklyn could address with his roster spot?
That much can’t and won’t be answered until next season, likely after another postseason swing, and 2022 title run.
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