Gary Harris Needs to be Untouchable in Terms of Trades
By Mathew Huff
Gary Harris needs to stay in the Mile High.
Gary Harris is clearly Denver’s best defender is there is really no debate on that front. Apart from Wilson Chandler, he is really the Nuggets’ only defensive threat.
That is why the Nuggets need to keep a hold of him if they do pull the trigger on a trade before the deadline. With the Nuggets being ranked 28th in the entire NBA in terms of NBA, it would make no sense to trade the one player who is actually competent on the defensive end of the floor. Harris, averaging 1.1 steals per game for his career, has actually been one of Denver’s most consistent players this season.
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Yes, he has had injury trouble, but at this point, who on the Nuggets hasn’t battled some type of injury?
We all know about his defensive prowess, but he is also an efficient offensive weapon. He is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 55% for the season along with a career high 13.4 points per game.
On top of that, he is also developing a nice shot from 3-point land as well. He is averaging 42% per 36 minutes from deep and has a field goal percentage of 42% from 3-point land in general also. Harris possesses an offensive box plus/minus of 2.2 this year and has an outstanding true shooting percentage of 58%.
His offensive rating is at a solid 116 this season which surprisingly is higher than his defensive rating of 114. This shows that Harris is really developing into a solid two-way player for the Denver Nuggets. In other words, he is the Nuggets’ Klay Thomspson. Yes, he isn’t quite as good as him, but that is the role he serves for the Denver Nuggets. Who knows, maybe he will become that caliber of player in the near future.
Ever since his less than stellar rookie year, Gary Harris has come a long way. Therefore, Denver needs to hold on to him as he continues to get better each season.