Can Devin Harris Ever Regain Once Promising NBA Potential?
After an outstanding three-year career at the University of Wisconsin, Devin Harris entered the 2004 NBA Draft. He was selected by the Washington Wizards with the fifth-overall pick, but was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner in exchange for Antawn Jamison.
Due to the departure of point guard Steve Nash to the Phoenix Suns, Harris had to find his own way to adapt his scoring-first mentality to the NBA’s typical point guard expectations. While averaging only 5.7 points, and appearing in 76 games, Harris slowly but surely found a way to combine his scoring and passing abilities as the season went on.
During the 2005-06 season, he started to score the ball more, and became known for his speed, while being able to lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals that year. He averaged 9.9 points even though he appeared in only 56 games that season due to a leg injury that caused him to miss a lot of the regular season.
Harris became the starting point guard for the Mavericks in the 2006-07 season, even though the team lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs—a huge blow to a team that made it to the NBA Finals the previous year. The Mavericks signed Harris to a five-year contract worth $42 million before the start of the 2007-08 season. Harris averaged a career-high 14.4 points and 5.4 assists per game during the first part of the 2007-08 season and was named co-captain along with Dirk Nowitzki.
However, the Mavericks were looking to rebuild their team (and looking to bring in some stability to their team) decided to trade Devin Harris on February 19, 2008, to the New Jersey Nets that brought back Jason Kidd to Dallas.
So this was a new era for Harris, who took his game to New Jersey after four-and-a-half seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. The New Jersey Nets were also looking to make some changes after making two consecutive NBA Finals and coming away without any NBA championships.
For the remainder of the 2007-08 season, Harris averaged 15.4 points, and 6.5 assists per game. He averaged a career-high 21.3 points along with 6.9 assists per game while starting and appearing in 69 games with the Nets during the 2008-09 season, and was named an All-Star reserve for the first time in his career.
However, things were changing in New Jersey as the team decided to unload Vince Carter to the Orlando Magic during the 2009 NBA Draft.
Devin Harris had to shoulder a lot of the work, and dealt with injuries. The team fell into a 0-18 hole to begin the season and finished with a 12-70 record—one of the worst of all time. Harris averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 assists per game while appearing in 64 games that season.
Bringing in former Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson to New Jersey was done in part to revive and keep Harris afloat. During the first 54 games of the 2010-11 NBA season, Harris averaged 15.0 points and a career-high 7.6 assists per game, while working with a different roster, including rookie Derrick Favors and second-year center Brook Lopez amongst others.
However, on February 23, 2011, Harris, along with rookie Derrick Favors, a 2011 first-round draft pick (Enes Kanter), a 2012 first-round draft pick, and three million dollars were sent to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Deron Williams, a move that left a lot of people shocked around the league.
Not only did Harris never take the Nets to the playoffs since arriving in town, he saw the roster change, and dealt with numerous injuries that caused his game to slow done at times. However, after spending three-and-a-half years with New Jersey, he would be once again heading back to the Western Conference.
In 17 games as a member of the Utah Jazz, including 16 starts, Harris averaged 15.8 points and 5.4 assists. Currently, he has two years and $17.8 million left on his contract that he signed with the Mavericks during the summer of 2007.
Harris has seen his career change from being a scoring threat to becoming a passer first and scoring when needed. It is also unknown how long will he be in Utah, as the team may look to make moves with its roster as soon as free agency is declared.
