Who Would You Trade for Carmelo Anthony?
Aug 31, 2010 Carmelo Anthony, Devin Harris
With the Nets constantly being mentioned by the mainstream sports media as a potential landing spot for Carmelo Anthony, the NAS squad is going to take a look over the next week at some of the players who would likely be included in a deal for the All-Star SF.
Would you Trade Devin Harris?
The Case For Trading Devin Harris:
Devin Harris played like and was recognized as an All-Star during the 2008-09 season, but there was a significant drop-off in his performance last season when he became the team’s focal point after the departure of Vince Carter. His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) dropped from 21.65 to 16.28 and his frailty really became exposed last season when he only played in 64 games due to assorted injuries – his third consecutive season of under 70 games played. Despite his aggressive style of play on offense, his field goal percentage on shots taken at the rim (53%) was an all-time low for Harris last season, according to hoopdata.com. Harris doesn’t hit enough of his remaining field goals (40% total, 28% from three) for the Nets to survive offensively without him connecting regularly on his drives to the hoop.
Devin Harris’ Expects to Make Playoffs in 2010-11, Needs to Raise Game
Aug 27, 2010 2011 Playoffs, Devin Harris, Evan Kaplan
Evan Kaplan is a new writer for NetsAreScorching and he will be posting here once a week. Evan is a lifelong Nets’ fan, so he shares the same passion for the Nets as all the other writers do. To keep track of Evan’s work, you can go here.
The Nets won just 12 games last season. It was by all accounts one of the worst seasons in NBA history. So don’t blame me if I’m a bit skeptical of starting point guard Devin Harris when he says the team’s expectation is to make the playoffs in 2010-11. Let’s just take this thing one step at a time, Devin.
There is no question that this year’s version of the Nets will have more talent. The additions of Troy Murphy, Derrick Favors and Jordan Farmar will certainly help the team (and I guess you can throw Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw and Johan Petro in there, too). But with so many new pieces a major factor will be how this team meshes together. New Head Coach Avery Johnson will have the task of getting everyone on the same page and making sure everyone knows their role on the team. But in the increasingly point-guard driven NBA, much of the success of this season will fall on D. Harris.
Devin Harris will be entering his third full season in Jersey and the team is hoping he can regain his 2008-2009 form. Despite the team winning just 34 games two seasons ago, Harris’ numbers were quite impressive. He averaged 21.3 points, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals, on his way to being named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. But his numbers trailed off dramatically in 2009-2010, and he admitted that in 2010-11 he needed to get healthy and regain his All-Star form.
The relationship between Harris and Avery Johnson will be one to keep a close eye on. The two were together in Dallas and many in the media felt that Johnson did not let Harris play the point guard position with enough freedom. However the Nets point guard did say he was excited when the organization hired Johnson to be the team’s new head coach.
The former Wisconsin star is the definition of the modern-day hybrid point guard. He is most effective when he’s scoring the ball first and dishing to teammates second. But with the new pieces the Nets have on their roster, he needs to be more of a facilitator and get everyone else involved. In 64 games last season, Harris had 10 or more assists just 7 times. If the Nets are to improve in this upcoming season and take a substantial step towards respectability, he will need to up his play and be the team’s true floor general. Devin Harris can say he expects the Nets to make the playoffs in 2010-11, but much of the team’s success will fall on his shoulders, and if he can become an All-Star caliber player again.
Daily Link: Devin Harris Interview
Aug 26, 2010 Daily Link, Devin Harris
It’s easy to get caught up with the new player acquisitions and the development of young guys like Brook Lopez and Terrence Williams, but remember, at one point last year, for better or worse, this was Devin Harris’ team and in many ways, it still is. NJNETS.com has posted an interview with Devo on their Facebook page. As one would expect, it sounds like Harris is getting ready to move on from last season:
“I look at the team that we had, and some of the games we were losing, it was just mental. We were in a lot of games – though we got our butts kicked our fair share, too – but we just made mental mistakes down the stretch. That’ll change with a new season. Coming back, we’ve got a lot of new guys. You look at last year and move forward.”
You would have to think that if Harris was playing like an all-star for most of last year, the Nets would never have been flirting with the worst record of all time. I think Harris’ performance out of the gate will go a long way in determining if he’s really that special kind of a player we all saw in 2008-09, or if that season was a bit of fluke.
Daily Link: Can Devin Bounce Back
Aug 10, 2010 Daily Link, Devin Harris
Sebastian Pruiti did some good work over at his other site, NBA Playbook. He recently used some video to analyze whether or not Devin Harris can have a bounce back season this year.
I feel like the things that caused Devin Harris to have such a poor season are correctable (save the injuries), and he is shaping up to have a bounce back year because the Nets will be running more, and he is now surrounded by some pretty good shooters.
I think Devin’s performance is really key for the Nets this year (duh). It’s not coincidental that the team only collected 12 wins while he spent most of last year either injured or underperforming.
Trading For A Core Player: Danny Granger
Aug 2, 2010 Devin Harris, Trade, Trade Ideas, Trade Rumors
There has been some talk recently of the New Jersey Nets needing a core player in order for them to take “it” to another level. Of course, this all came about because of the likely availability of Chris Paul and no matter what he and the New Orleans Hornets say or don’t say, there are still rumors milling about that Paul can still be traded. Another reason for this talk of a core player for the Nets is Carmelo Anthony, who has until June 30, 2011 to accept a contract extension offered by the Denver Nuggets, which he still hasn’t accepted and hence the possibility that he could be traded at the NBA trade deadline. However, two things should be said: 1) my NAS colleagues will be talking about the aforementioned duo of Paul and Anthony and 2) while Brook Lopez is a core player, like most successful teams, another superstar-type of player/talent is needed to elevate a team. Today, we’ll take a look at Indiana Pacers forward, Danny Granger.
Read the rest of this entry »
Daily Link: Nets Still Angling for Chris Paul
Jun 22, 2010 Daily Link, Devin Harris, Tooting My Horn, Trade Rumors
According to Mitch Lawrence and the Daily News, the Nets are still trying to trade for New Orleans Hornets’ PG Chris Paul, apparently offering Devin Harris and the #3 pick in the draft to make it happen. But with a new coach coming in and NOLA trying to turn over a new leaf, they reportedly are not interested in trading their lone box office draw in Paul:
“We are not going to move him,” said one team official Monday. “He’s our foundation and is not exactly ‘touchable.’”
I think given all of the Avery Johnson/Devin talk that’s transpired since Johnson has come aboard, it would be interesting to see the Nets just turn around and trade for Paul. It’s the kind of move this team hasn’t made since Kidd for Marbury.
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Also, our boy Sebastian is going to be appearing on The Basketball Jones mock draft, streaming live at noon today. Good luck Sebastian. We’re all counting on you.
Update:
Here is the link for the post. Check in around 12.
Devin Harris, Avery Johnson and Defense
Jun 14, 2010 Avery Johnson, Devin Harris
In the dozens of articles that have been written about Avery Johnson since he was first announced as a candidate for the head coaching vacancy on the Nets, one theme that has been discussed extensively is his past and current relationship with Devin Harris, who was Johnson’s main point guard during the Mavs’ NBA Finals run in 2006 and for their first round collapse against the Warriors in 2007. From point guard to point guard, there was reportedly some tough love doled out by Johnson to Harris during their Dallas years together. Still, Johnson saw stardom in Harris, something Devin did accomplish in his first full year in New Jersey when he was one of the top scoring point guards in the league and made his first all-star game. Read the rest of this entry »
Daily Link: Chris Paul on Nets Radar?
Jun 8, 2010 Daily Link, Devin Harris, Draft, Trade Rumors
Last week I assumed, barring something unforeseen, that Devin Harris was the Nets PG in the 2010-11 season. Well, Sam Smith is speculating something unforeseen. He believes the Nets are going to use their #3 pick in an attempt to trade for New Orleans PG Chris Paul.
The thinking goes like this: You get Paul and can play Devin Harris at shooting guard. Harris isn’t a great three-point shooter, though he has had decent seasons at 34 percent. But he is more a scoring guard than point guard. Plus, the way the game is played these days, it is useful to have a shooting guard who can handle the ball and make plays as opposed to just spotting up. The other, perhaps more likely, possibility is a sign-and-trade with the Hawks of Harris for Joe Johnson.
When healthy, Chris Paul is arguably the best point guard in the NBA – a player who can score, shoot, pass and play defense. However, Paul is also coming off an injury ravaged season where he only played in 45 games. He’s two years from free agency as well, which could play a role in disrupting Mikhail Prokhorov’s five-year plan.
Personally, I’m more excited to hear that this kind of speculation is out there, though I’m not sure what I think of Paul in a Nets uniform as of yet. It sounds like the Nets brass are ultimately unimpressed with what’s going to be available with their draft pick. I also think there’s some reality setting in that most of the big name free agents are either going to stay where they are or avoid the Nets.
Devin Harris is Your Point Guard
Jun 2, 2010 Devin Harris
While this post may come across as stating the obvious, it’s worth noting that one of the main consequences of the Nets landing the third pick in the draft is that, barring some kind of blockbuster trade, Devin Harris is going to be the Nets’ point guard this coming season.
Logic seemed to dictate that despite the talk that Devin Harris and John Wall could have coexisted in the same backcourt, the Nets would have explored trading Harris if they landed the number one pick to make room for the Kentucky point guard. This is clearly a moot point now, and I don’t know what to think about that.
On one hand, I think trading Harris this summer was a lose-lose proposition. His value is probably as low as it’s going to get, despite showing flashes of being the type of dynamic player he was two seasons ago with Vince Carter in the backcourt. Harris gets injured too often, relies too much on drawing contact around the hoop to get his points (ergo leading to more injuries), doesn’t shoot well and reportedly rarely demonstrated leadership abilities when it was clearly *his* team last year. But then you look at his 08-09 season, specifically the first part of it, and you have to wonder if Harris can match that type of production again if there’s another scorer on the floor to draw the attention of defenders. And that’s what would have made trading Harris so maddening – because they would have received spare parts or bad contracts in return for a player that is hypothetically not that far away from finding it again.
In an interview in Russia, new owner Mikhail Prokhorov said he was not disappointed by losing out on the Wall sweepstakes because the Nets had Harris. And while I have to praise Prokhorov for sticking up for his current guys and being an optimist, it’s easy to question whether or not the Nets would have been better in the long term having the opportunity to select Wall and moving Harris. But with that situation now being very unlikely, the Nets and Nets fans need to start operating as if Harris is there point guard now and in the foreseeable future.
Why Evan Turner Is The Number One Pick For The Nets
May 13, 2010 2010 Draft, 2010 Free Agents, 2010 Offseason, Brook Lopez, Carlos Boozer, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Devin Harris, Draft, Draft Lottery, Evan Turner, Free Agents, HOPE!, John Wall, Mikhail Prokhorov, Opinion, Rod Thorn, Terrence Williams
There is no questioning that John Wall is an excellent talent and NBA prospect. Ask anyone that watches basketball and they will tell you in no uncertain terms that he’s phenomenal, an athletic freak, and quite the dancer. My NAS colleague, Devin, praises Wall and makes excellent points about Wall’s game. However, if I were the New Jersey Nets, I’d select Evan Turner if the Nets’ luck is as good as a picture of a bikini-clad Jessica Alba and the team wins next week’s NBA Draft Lottery. Turner is as versatile as they come and many consider Wall and Turner, Pick 1A and 1B, but we’ll get down to Turner and his skill set a bit later. First, let’s peep the point guard that most people think is no longer in the Nets’ plans and seemingly expendable.
Oh, and for the record, the Nets have a 25% chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery and receiving the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft and I have a -25% chance of gaining any attention from the aforementioned Alba. Snowball meet hell.