TRADES OFFICIAL: Nets bid farewell to Joe Harris, Patty Mills

The Nets on Thursday officially announced the trades that are sending Joe Harris to the Pistons and Patty Mills to the Rockets (who are expected to re-route him to the Thunder.)

In addition, the Nets announced Thursday that Cam Johnson has re-signed with the team. Although they did not reveal details. it’s been reported the deal is four years and $108 million including unlikely incentives.

The only thing new in the official announcements is that the Nets will send draft compensation along with Mills — a 2028 second round draft pick acquired from the Bucks in the Kevin Durant mega-deal — return for unspecified “future draft considerations.” The Rockets in their announcement said the Nets were getting a protected second round pick but Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweeted Thursday that the pick will be top-55 protected, meaning the Rockets would only have to hand it over if the pick falls between Nos, 56 and 60 in some future draft.

The Harris trade remains as initially reported: Harris along with two second round picks acquired at the trade deadline — a 2027 second from the Mavericks and a 2029 second from the Bucks — will go to Detroit for cash considerations, reported as $110,000, the bare minimum a team can include as compensation in any trade.

The two trades combined will cut the Nets payroll by nearly $27 million: $19.9 million for Harris, $6.8 million for Mills. In addition, the deal will generate trade exceptions worth the same amount as the players’ contracts. Losing Harris, Mills and Seth Curry who signed with Dallas does reduce the Nets 3-point efficiency. All three are among the best 3-point shooters in NBA history, but all three also had down years in 2022-23 and each is over 30. Mills is 34, Curry turns 33 this summer and Harris is 31.

In making the trades official , Sean Marks offered praise of Harris, the longest tenured Net, and Mills, who was, at season’s end, the only Net with a championship ring, won in San Antonio in 2014. Marks was an assistant coach with the Spurs at the time.

“It’s difficult to put into words just how much Joe has meant to this franchise,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “For seven years he displayed the character, drive and team-first approach that served as a model for his teammates and staff alike. Joe helped define what it means to be a Net, while fully embracing being a part of the Brooklyn community. We’re grateful for everything Joe has done and wish him and his family the very best going forward. He will forever remain part of our Nets family.”

The Nets official website offered its own farewell to Harris. with clips from Media Day in 2016...

On Friday, the Nets took out full-page “Thank You, Joe” ads in the Post and Daily News.

Harris, of course, became along with Spencer Dinwiddie the best examples of the Nets development success in the early years of the Sean Marks era.

Harris recorded averages of 11.6 points on 48.3 percent shooting from the field, 44.0 percent shooting from 3-point range (first in franchise history) and 77.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.9 minutes per game in 432 games (282 starts). The Chelan, Wash., native departs Brooklyn as the franchise’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made (984), as well as the league leader in 3-point percentage in the 2020-21 season (franchise record 47.5 percent) and 2018-19 season (47.4 percent). He also became the first Net to win the 3-point Contest at All-Star Weekend when he bested the field in Charlotte in 2019. In 488 games (283 starts) split between Brooklyn and Cleveland (2014-16), Harris has notched career averages of 10.5 points on 48.0 percent shooting from the field, 43.7 percent shooting from distance (fourth in NBA history) and 77.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.9 minutes per contest.

Marks was not only one to praise Harris. In a retweet, D’Angelo Russell noted the connection he and Harris had in 2018-19 when Harris led the NBA in 3-point shooting...

As for Mills, Marks praised his professionalism while in Brooklyn.

“Patty was an exemplary representative of the Nets during his two years in Brooklyn, both for his contributions on the court and his impact in the community,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “We thank Patty for all he has brought to our organization and wish him and Alyssa nothing but the best in their next chapter.”

The announcement also recounted Mills achievements with the Nets and before that the Spurs and Blazers.

Mills originally signed with the Nets on Aug. 10, 2021, and appeared in 121 games (50 starts) across two seasons (2021-23) in Brooklyn, registering averages of 9.7 points on 40.9 percent shooting from the field, 39.3 percent shooting from 3-point range and 82.0 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 1.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.1 minutes per game. In the 2022-23 campaign, Mills played in 40 games (two starts) and averaged 6.2 points on 41.1 percent shooting from the field, 36.6 percent shooting from distance and 83.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 1.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14.2 minutes per contest. Mills has played in 860 games (107 starts) in 14 seasons with Brooklyn, San Antonio (2011-21) and Portland (2009-11), notching averages of 9.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20.4 minutes per game while shooting 42.6 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 85.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Marks also offered comments on Johnson, calling him a leader on and off the court.

“Re-signing Cam was our top priority throughout this free agency period, and we are thrilled to have him remain in Brooklyn as a core member of the Nets for years to come,” said Marks. “Since the moment he arrived last season, Cam immediately embraced a leadership role both on and off the court. His versatile skillset as a two-way wing has proven to be an ideal fit with our roster, and we look forward to the positive impact he will continue to bring to our team and the Brooklyn community.”

Thursday is the first day teams can finalize trades and signing agreed the first week of free agency.

In other news, the Nets extended the deadline for guaranteeing Edmond Sumner’s vets minimum deal through 2023-24. Mike Scotto was first with the news...

The Nets originally had to decide by Thursday but my mutual agreement, the deadline has been extended through July 15, according to Brian Lewis...

The Nets opens Summer League play on Friday night vs. Cleveland at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

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