While Myles Turner spends time with Team USA this summer, it would be nice if he could recruit some more talent for the Indiana Pacers. Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets would be a major get.
As Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner spends time with Team USA gearing up for the FIBA World Cup, he can take advantage of several opportunities. He can absorb a ton of useful knowledge from legendary head coach Gregg Popovich. He can continue to hone and develop his skills against some of the top talent in the world. On top of all of that, he could use his time to build relationships with upcoming free agents to try to lure them to Indiana as the Pacers push to be contenders.
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Enter, Joe Harris. If you haven’t been paying attention to the Brooklyn Nets lately (and you should be), Harris has exploded into being the best somehow-still-under-the-radar sniper in the entire NBA. He led the league in 3-point shooting percentage last season at a blistering 47%. The two years prior, he shot 42% and 39%. Clearly, he’s one of the best league-wide in this regard.
He’s also a free agent in the summer of 2020, so many teams will likely be in the mix for the nearly 28 year old sharpshooter. And sure, he wants to stay in Brooklyn, but with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving now taking up a bunch of cap space, and Caris LeVert needing a new contract soon himself, things could get a little tight money-wise for the Nets.
It’s a similar sounding thing to the Milwaukee Bucks opting to part with Malcolm Brogdon once their money dried up. After paying Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to stay in Wisconsin with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Indiana Pacers capitalized and scooped up Brogdon. Could they do the same with Joe Harris?
If so, it would be a perfect fit. Joe Harris could slot in at the starting small forward position, as he’s a much more natural fit there than T.J. Warren. This would either slide Warren to the bench where he could dominate opposing backups, or to the starting power forward spot if the Domantas Sabonis/Myles Turner experiment fails. Harris is the perfect Bojan Bogdanovic replacement.
Of course, he won’t come cheap. Kevin Pritchard and the Indiana Pacers would have to work some magic to free up the money. But with few big-name guys on the market next summer, Harris would be a massive get.
It’s premature to talk about 2020 free agency, but Myles Turner could start laying some groundwork for the Indiana Pacers if any of his Team USA teammates are potential targets. Joe Harris, we’d love to have you!