Harris is definitely younger, more athletic and better shooter than Miller, but I'm not convinced that he'd be the upgrade needed to propel us into the next echelon of NBA teams. However, we could end up with the D. Harris of a few years ago that lit it up like no other. As long as he and Roy can co-exist, I'm sure it would be fine... as is the case in most trade scenarios for a point guard.
Let's see... 82games.com says that 34% of his shots are from the inside. 884 shots total means about 301 inside shots. He also shot 217 three pointers, which means that he took 366 non-three point jumpers, right? His eFG% (and therefore his FG%) on inside shots was 51.2, meaning he made 154. We also know that he made 60 three pointers and 296 non-three pointers. So... he made 144 non-three point jumpers of 366. 39.3%. Not too great, but that doesn't seem too terrible to me. Ed O.
Luckily for all of us 82games.com breaks down a players shooting percentage based somewhat on distance. The rank them as Jump shot, Close, Dunk or Tip. According to that site, Harris last year had an effective field goal percentage of %39 from the Jump range and %51 from close. This is opposed to Millers %33 and %60 in the same respective categories. A %6 percent difference is pretty substantial, though neither could be said to be lighting it up.
Last year, on shots from 16-23 feet, Miller shot 34%. he shot 41, 42 and 43 the three years prior. So one can look at it that his mid range game is declining. Or, last season was just an off year, in an offense not designed for the PG to get those shots? Regardless. 34, 41, 42, 43 the last four years, Harris was at 39, 39, 37, 39. As I had said, never above 40. 5% is a difference, for sure. But it doesn't make either of them a good mid-range shooter, and outside of last season, Miller has been consistently better from there.
Can this magical 82games.com site tell if Devin Harris would be completely abused on defense by Grant Hill. That's the "stat" I'm looking to upgrade at PG.
If we could get the Devin Harris from a few years ago, that would be great, but I'd be hesitant to give up a whole lot since there's no guarantee he'd return to that form. But if he does get back to that form, it'd be a heist. I went to a Suns vs Nets game a few years ago in Phoenix where Harris dropped like 41 in a Nets win and was just absolutely abusing Steve Nash. Draining threes, blowing past guys for layups, pulling up from midrange and knocking it down. The Suns had no answer. He dominated the game and it was awesome to watch. I know that's just one game, but it showed the kind of player he can be when healthy and not on one of the worst teams in NBA history record-wise. If we can THAT Devin Harris I'd rather have him than Tony Parker.
I think a lot of guys get better when they are not asked to do as much. I think going from #1 option to 3rd would help him and his game a lot.
I think Devin Harris thrives as being a second or third option. Not the focal point of the opposing teams defense like he was last year in Jersey.
I'd do it, only because I think Harris will be much better when he's put into a winning situation and doesn't have to carry the scoring load. With that said, I wonder if the trade will include Rudy, Bayless, and Joel. I don't see NJ taking on three guards, especially when one of them is as old as Andre. If Joel gets healthy, great, if not they let him walk at the end of the season. Although, I guess it's possible that they would want Andre for the same reason we wanted him; to get the ball into the middle. Regardless, I think either Andre or Joel, whichever is still around, would be dealt before the end of the summer.
This is what I'm confused about. I think a fair amount of people agree with you. My question is why is everyone so down on Bayless and so high on Williams?
The excitement of the unknown! Same way Bayless was preferred to Sergio. Sergio to Blake. Blake to jack. Jack to Telfair. Telfair to Damon. Now it's Williams to Bayless. Next year, Koppo to Williams.
Williams is already a better passer and appears to be better on D than Bayless. By all accounts he held his own against John Wall down in the Vegas scrimmage. Bayless is a mess when it comes to passing and he always seems to rack up two quick fouls whenever he gets in game because he's overplaying his man.
Here are my reasons: 1. We have seen enough to Jerryd to know that he is not a point guard. 2. If Jerryd is basically an undersized shooting guard, and we just signed a shooting guard to a fairly large contract, Jerryd will lose out on minutes. 3. Bayless will demand minutes, whereas Williams is a rookie and will not. 4. At the very least, Williams will be a Jerryd clone. Fortunately we have four years to figure out whether we like him. Jerryd is entering his third season so there's much less time.
We do not know that for sure. This guy could turn out to be a major bust. And despite Jerryd entering his 3rd season, Elliot Williams is only half a year younger than Jerryd.
