In just two years' time, Brooklyn Nets guard-forward Joe Harris has doubled down his stock with the franchise, making him a coveted free agent as the offseason nears. As the Nets front office will strategically attempt to legitimize their roster in order to please their co-stars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Harris will surely be a player they look to retain immediately before he falls into the wrong hands when the clock strikes 12 on free agency.
At 29, Harris is entering the best portion of his career, where he'll likely earn his most money before settling for the typical veteran-minimum contract that sharpshooters historically get later in their 30's. He's currently coming off a two-year, $16 million contract that he signed with the Nets. While it's easy to automatically pinpoint Harris back with Brooklyn next season, it'll come as quite a task in terms of salary cap.
The Nets, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks, will surely go into a $50 million luxury tax payment at the expense of signing Harris back, seeing as how his next contract will likely be above $12 million. This doesn't even include the signing of their draft pick, assuming it isn't traded. And just like that, keeping the 3-point marksman becomes a shaky task for Brooklyn,a squad that'll undoubtedly want to bring in additional pieces to shore up their chances of contending next season.
In the event that the Nets aren't able to secure Joe Harris this free agency, here's a look at three contestants that could offer the talent the money and minutes that he'll be looking for.
3. New York Knicks
Given their recent tendency to go after veterans, despite the fit, Harris will definitely entertain an offer from the Nets crosstown rival in the New York Knicks. The Knicks will stay in the mix as potential suitors for many players in what's to be a subpar free agency class for the 2020 offseason. Harris is no different in that regard.
The Knicks have a tested marksman in Reggie Bullock, but outside of that nobody fits the bill. RJ Barrett will become more of a threat from 3-point range as his game continues to develop, but that shouldn't stop the Knicks from making a big move on a sharpshooter such as Harris. The University of Virginia product ended last season shooting an astounding 42 percent from downtown. Though the mark is noteworthy, it's even a dip from his prior 2018-19 year when he went 47 percent from deep.
The Big Apple presumably won't want to spend all of it's advantageous money on Joe Harris, seeing as how they'll look to keep themselves in play for a marquee name via trades, but the idea of Harris in blue and orange isn't far-fetched.
2. Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns is another squad, that aside from Devin Booker, doesn't possess a capable knock-down shooter. Their current backcourt consist of Booker and Ricky Rubio, who has improved his marksmanship in recent years, but it's nothing worth noting as a threat. The Suns were able to do particularly well during their time in the Disney NBA Bubble, and will look to build on that going into next season.
Booker has shown he's capable of leading a team at 23, and DeAndre Ayton has continued his quest on forming into a dominating big man for the foreseeable future. Adding Harris to a backcourt with Booker can create a daring and intimidating scoring presence for opposing defenders.
In terms of cap space, the Suns likely won't be able to land what will be the few big names in free agency, leaving someone such as Harris to be a prime target on their radar once the offseason commences. The Suns possess a reasonable amount of cap space at roughly $20.6 million, per Spotrac. Joe Harris would also add some much-needed veteran presence to this relatively young ball club, with most of their players ranging in the 23-26 age range.
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
The North Star State is gearing up to go all out in the offseason, and Joe Harris could possibly be one of their answers. The T-Wolves will look to shed some of their dead weight this offseason while trying in their best attempts to bring exceptional talent aboard. If not, the writing may well be on the wall in terms of convincing both D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns to not want out of Minnesota.
The Timberwolves, upon successfully offloading some of their current players, should have some flexible cap space capable of taking on someone of Harris' caliber. An additional shot-creator on the floor with Russell is key to them being able to amount any success this season in an already challenging Western Conference. While they do own the No.1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, it's premature to think that whoever they'd select could be a ready-now contributor to a team on a timetable.
Harris could provide an additional scoring threat in the backcourt with Russell, allowing Russell to generate more plays for himself with less pressure from the defense centralized on him. The T-Wolves do, however, have James Johnson's player option coming up, which he could be inclined to exercise. If that comes to terms, it could be difficult for Minnesota to maneuver much more, unless they're able to navigate a salary dumping-trade.
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