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Joe Harris free agency: Contract projection and possible landing spots

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Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris heads into free agency looking for a big payday. The Nets’ offseason might be focused on trade rumours for a third star, but retaining Harris is crucial for Brooklyn as they look to contend in 2021 and beyond.

There are a lot of potential landing spots for Harris. Every team can benefit from a career 42% three-point shooting wing who works hard on defence. Harris took a career-high 5.9 threes per contest last season on his way to 14.5 points per game, another career-best.

Free agency comes at a good time for Harris personally given his career trajectory, though the status of the league is less than ideal. The salary cap is still unknown at the time of writing, and only a handful of teams have cap space.

Harris is not going to get one of those gaudy deals that we’ve seen handed out in previous offseasons. He’s going to be somewhere in the $8 million to $15 million per year range. The likelihood is that he stays at the Nets given their lack of cap flexibility and his desire to remain with the team he’s been with since 2016.

It might simply be a question of how much the Nets are forced to pay him.

       

J.J. Redick’s contract with the New Orleans Pelicans could be a marker for Harris. The former Clipper landed a two-year, $26.5 million last offseason.

Redick is a few years older than Harris, who only turned 29 in September, but he’s got a longer track record of NBA success. Harris might be looking for more than a couple of years, too.

Prior to leaving for New Orleans, Redick signed a pair of one-year deals with the Sixers, the first year for $23 million and the second for $12.25 million. Harris could consider a one-year pact and enter free agency again in 2021 when the financial future of the league will be clearer and more teams will have cap space – that seems an unlikely scenario, however.

Danny Green’s two-year, $30 million pact with the Lakers from last offseason might be a useful reference point, too. The Lakers, like Brooklyn, had two stars and were looking to fill the roster around them – Green and Harris are ideal complementary pieces for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Of course, the Lakers used cap space for Green, and the Nets are under no such pressure with Harris, as they hold his Bird Rights. Brooklyn can keep Harris if they want to, but they will be wary of the price being run up.

       

Fortunately for the Nets, it’s hard to see any of the teams with space throwing an extortionate contract at Harris. He’s a valuable player for a contender, but he’s not going to move the needle for franchises devoid of top-tier talent.

The Atlanta Hawks are the main team to keep an eye on. Atlanta might be looking to push on next season, and adding a veteran like Harris to the core of Clint Capela, Trae Young and John Collins can help them do just that. Having drafted several wings in recent years, though, the Hawks will probably give it another year before bringing in a free agent who could take minutes off Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter.

With the standard mid-level exception set to be around $9.8 million, Harris could be a target for teams with their MLE available. The Nets will probably have to pay him at least $10 million per season – a three-year, $33 million contract looks about the market value.

Direct NBA free agent contract comparisons are never as straight forward as they appear – that’s exaggerated this offseason. Harris will be hoping for something close to what Green got from the Lakers, but could easily get a longer deal for more guaranteed money.

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