:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60019741/937873688.jpg.0.jpg)
Joe Harris and Sean Marks have both said all the right things about his (unrestricted) free agency. Harris wants to come back and the Nets want him back.
“I think Joe made it pretty clear from statements he made that he’d love to be back here,” said Marks at the end-of-season press conference. “That’s how the organization feels about him too. As Kenny alluded to before, we’ve got some decisions to make on several, and definitely Joe is a guy we see in a Nets uniform.”
But would the Warriors be interested and might the lure of returning to a championship level team —he played for the Cavaliers before joining the Nets— make his think twice about his future? And what about a return to the Cavs or a move to the Thunder?
This weekend, Tim Kawakami, the veteran Warriors beat writer, mentioned Harris as a candidate for Golden State’s $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. Responding to a fan who had suggested Harris, Kawakami wrote...
That is definitely one name to consider -- even more intriguing because it likely/possibly/theoretically wouldn't take the full $5.2 million slot. https://t.co/N2G29Lm6vZ
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 9, 2018
Would Harris accept less than the $5.2 million a year exception, as Kawakami tweeted? Don’t know but there was a hint of Warriors’ interest in him at the trade deadline. Back then, Zach Lowe suggested that the Warriors might be willing to offer the Nets Patrick McCaw, their 22-year-old small forward, for Harris.
“Could they coax Brooklyn into a Patrick McCaw - Joe Harris swap?” Lowe wrote. It sounded kind of specific, but of course nothing came of it and Harris had a much better post-All Star Break than McCaw. Harris led the league in 3-point percentage after the Break at 47.1 percent. He also dramatically improved his percentage at the rim and his defense. McCaw, on the other hand, was injured in late March and barely played in the post-season.
Two other teams have been mentioned in off-season speculation, the Cavaliers and Thunder, both of whom proved during the playoffs that they could use deep shooting. Like the Warriors, neither can’t offer more than $5.2 million.
As for the Nets, they can offer Harris up to $8.2 million, using his Early Bird rights. And because of those Bird rights, they can wait till after bigger moves to re-sign Harris. His cap hold is a mere $1.5 million so there won’t need to rush.