Marks backs Harris despite playoff struggles
Some Nets fans may be burning their Joe Harris jerseys, but Brooklyn isn’t burning any bridges with their veteran forward, despite his playoff woes.
After the NBA’s 3-point champ went into a slump at the wrong time — just 32.7 percent from deep in the second-round exit — many fans have blamed Harris. A particularly dramatic one posted a video to social media burning his black No. 12 Harris jersey, while just one season into a four-year extension even Harris himself openly hoped the organization would keep him around.
On Monday, GM Sean Marks insisted Harris’ illtimed slump won’t have any impact on the longesttenured Net’s standing with the team, or his stay in Brooklyn.
“We have to be careful with what-have-you-donefor-me-lately,” Marks said. “He’s a huge part of this culture and driving it, and we owe a lot of that just to who Joe is as a person both on and off the court, how he’s developed, how he’s sacrificed, the work he’s put in.
“Am I disappointed? For sure. But I cannot be more disappointed in Joe than he already is in himself. I know that. He’s taking this tough and difficult and hard, and I know he’ll be back to being Joe and shooting lights-out like he always has. In terms of his future on the team, there’s no comment: Joe is a Brooklyn Net until otherwise, whether that’s his decision or mine. … We 100 percent support Joe and will be here for him, and I expect Joe to bounce back and be the elite shooter he’s shown.”
Harris has shown a penchant for hot regular seasons to become cold postseasons. That’s inauspicious for a shooter with three years and $55.9 million remaining on a deal and is playing for a team harboring clear championship aspirations.
“A lot of us — especially me, hoping that I’ll be around for a little while,” Harris said Saturday night about the possibility of changes after this early exit.
After Harris shot just 19 percent from 3 in a 2018-19 first-round exit, he started off strong in these playoffs, hitting at 51 percent to finish plus-101 through the Nets’ 6-1 start. But he slumped to 24.2 percent for a minus-51 over the last five, with the Nets losing four of them. And Game 7 may have been the most galling.
Harris went 3 of 9 and missed an open 3 that could’ve put Brooklyn ahead by three with under a minute left in OT. The Bucks rebounded and came down for what turned out to be the winning basket.
“Obviously I’m disappointed. I wish I’d played better,” Harris said. “I wish I would’ve shot more efficiently, help alleviate some of the pressure that other guys were facing.
“But this is the situation that we’re in. And frankly, had I played better, we might be in a little bit of a different spot. So it’s definitely going to be a motivating factor for me in this offseason going forward.”