After a semi-breakout year, Joe Harris is returning to Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn Nets and shooting guard, Joe Harris, have agreed to a two-year $16 million dollar deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nets wasted no time locking down the former Wahoo, with the announcement of the deal arriving just before free agency officially began. It’s quite possible that Brooklyn felt compelled to lock him down as soon as possible after rumors that he could potentially be moving to Indiana started circulating earlier in the day (though they ended up with Doug McDermott instead).
Joe Harris has agreed to a two-year, $16M deal with Nets, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2018
And while this deal is a slight overpay for a guard who can’t do much besides shoot, it’s a great deal for the Nets.
Harris’ shooting fills glaring holes on the team and the team performed noticeably better when he took to the court last year. The Nets were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league, despite taking the third highest amount of shots from that range. Because their offense relied so heavily on the three-ball having a player like Joe Harris on the team–career 40% shooter from three and 77.4% from the free throw line–helped the offense play more efficiently.
Joe Harris and Doug McDermott getting paid this quick is both hilarious and stresses how important shooting really is in today's game.
— Josh Eberley🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) July 1, 2018
Harris had a career year last year, averaging double digit points for the first time in his career and showing more playmaking than ever before. He also did it with spectacular efficiency–49.1% from the field, 41.9% from three, 82.7% from the free throw line–and looked the part of an NBA shooting guard. His defense remains a work in progress and could become a significant issue for the team down the line, but he’s good enough as a shooter to make up for his defense.
This is an overall good deal for Brooklyn and Harris fills enough holes to justify the heftier contract.