Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris has been a member of the Nets since 2016 and during that time, he’s seen different iterations of this team. During the early years, the team resembled more of what it looks like after the trade deadline: a bunch of players of similar talent who excel at different roles, but none of them a superstar.
Then, when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving got to the team in the summer of 2019, the organization shifted from a fun team with expectations of maybe making the playoffs, but losing in the first round to possibly winning a championship thanks to those two guys. For reasons too complicated to get into here, even having Durant, Irving, and eventually James Harden, did not result in a title.
Now that the team is back to what it was when Harris first got to Brooklyn, a team with possible playoff expectations, but is more focused on development until a start or two comes along, it has essentially been a full-circle moment. After Thursday’s 116-105 win over the Chicago Bulls, Harris, who had 18 points on six made threes, spoke on what the team used to look like and what it looks like now:
“It’s obviously really, really early. But, everybody that we brought in, I think tonight was a little bit of a taste of it. Obviously, Mikal (Bridges) and Cam (Johnson) will join us against Philly. But, it’s guys that are trying to play the right way. We don’t have a legit superstar talent, where you can just toss him the ball and know that they’re probably going to take and make a lot of tough shots. So, it’s more of by committee. But I think, everybody that we brought in, in their own right is a very talented player and elite at different things. And, if we can get everybody together on the same page, I think we can be a very competitive team.”
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