Kevon Harris

[Lipoli390]

After spending time in Vegas watching the Wolves and other teams live, I've been watching replays of the Wolves Summer League games at home. The replays have simply confirmed what I saw in Vegas - i.e., Kevon Harris was, by far, the best player on the Wolves Summer League team. He's definitely a two-way player with an NBA body and NBA skill set. He also brings a spirit and toughness that you can't have enough of on your team if you want to be successful.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Wolves should offer him their remaining two-way contract for next season. He would provide additional valuable depth as a player who can step on the floor and hold his own on both ends at the NBA level. And I also think it's important to send a message that when the Wolves bring you in to play for their Summer League or G-League team and you perform consistently at a high level, you'll be rewarded. It's part of building the organization's reputation around the League.

Here's a video of an interviews of Harris during the G-League playoffs. He's a really likable guy who clearly has his head on straight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biznRS04ESQ

[worldK]

Agree lip. You can't get enough of guys who play with energy and toughness on your team. He also has good size and can play. It is very important for us now more than ever with the loss of 4 first round picks to find, develop and keep young cheap talents who can contribute down the road. I like what I saw with Nathan Knight last season. Develop properly and these type of players can be useful to fill out roster spots. Player development should be a high priority for this new regime.

[FNG]

I've mentioned before that I am not a Nathan Knight guy. I watched him closely at two games I went to last year (on the bench and during warmups, since he didn't get any minutes) and he lacked the gravitas I want to see in an NBA player. Laughing and joking, regardless of the status of the game. And practicing shots from behind the baseline pre-game rather than actually working on shots he might see in a game. But I see in Harris everything I don't like in Knight. There's are reasons he was the conference player of the year his senior year (same as Nowell, I believe). Yes, give him a 2-way.

[Q-is-here]

He's also an older guy (by Summer League standards) with an NBA body, so if we got hit by injuries, you don't feel like he'd be completely overwhelmed on the defensive end coming off the bench. He'd have to hit that 3-ball consistently though, which he didn't do in the G-League last season.

[Monster]

I'm fine if Harris ends up being the guy. I just didn't see enough for me to feel confident that he is the best option. Looking at his stats he obviously shot incredibly well but some of his do shit stats were pretty meh. I know part of the appeal of him is his defense which I think was good but idk if it was THAT good. Maybe it really was/is.

Did people watch guys that also put up some nice numbers some in less minutes like Charlie Moore or Tommy Kuhse or Moses Wright? I didn't watch any of those guys and I would bet there are 10-20 other players that might be worth considering that I never watched either. Lip watched more games than anyone here and he is in on Harris but I'm still someone that thinks there may be a better player out there. Heck at this point I wouldn't mind going for a guy with more upside with this 2-way deal.

[Lipoli390]

I'm fine if Harris ends up being the guy. I just didn't see enough for me to feel confident that he is the best option. Looking at his stats he obviously shot incredibly well but some of his do shit stats were pretty meh. I know part of the appeal of him is his defense which I think was good but idk if it was THAT good. Maybe it really was/is.

Did people watch guys that also put up some nice numbers some in less minutes like Charlie Moore or Tommy Kuhse or Moses Wright? I didn't watch any of those guys and I would bet there are 10-20 other players that might be worth considering that I never watched either. Lip watched more games than anyone here and he is in on Harris but I'm still someone that thinks there may be a better player out there. Heck at this point I wouldn't mind going for a guy with more upside with this 2-way deal.

I watched a lot of Summer League games in Vegas and since them on TV. A lot of players impressed me, but those players were largely already under contract with other teams. I think McClung is still available and he really impressed me. But I don't think he'd come here on a two-way. I honestly didn't see any unsigned players who impressed me more than Harris. His defense wasn't just good; it was outstanding and it was nonstop. He never let up on the defensive side of the ball. I'd say the about him on the offensive side of the ball as well.

I know Harris didn't shoot well from behind the arc in the G-League last season. But I'll note that he hit 39.7% of his threes in his 4-year college career, including 41.3% on a significant 4.6 attempts in his last college season. He also hit 46% of his three-point attempts in Summer League. And let's remember, we're talking two-way contract here, not rotation player. What I like about Harris is that I know what we'll get from him ever minute he's on the court. We'll get a high-energy, tough two-way player with an NBA body who locks in on defense, handles the ball and can attack the basket and finish explosively. And yes, he can shoot.

[WallyBall]

Anyone catch the recent athletic article on the summer league? If not, Hollinger explains what type of players summer league is geared toward...small, quick guards who shoot a lot. It's not to say other bigs, like this years top 3, didn't also ball out, but more why some players do not stand out, and do rather quite bad. Maybe this explains why Wendell Moore Jr and Matteo Spagnolo really didn't stand out much, that they are complementary players that do well with a different style of play and-or better team mates around them like Lip previously suggested....it doesn't really explain why Kevon Harris did pretty well, except he had the ball in his hands most of the time...

[Monster]

Anyone catch the recent athletic article on the summer league? If not, Hollinger explains what type of players summer league is geared toward...small, quick guards who shoot a lot. It's not to say other bigs, like this years top 3, didn't also ball out, but more why some players do not stand out, and do rather quite bad. Maybe this explains why Wendell Moore Jr and Matteo Spagnolo really didn't stand out much, that they are complementary players that do well with a different style of play and-or better team mates around them like Lip previously suggested....it doesn't really explain why Kevon Harris did pretty well, except he had the ball in his hands most of the time...

People like Harris because he played defense and he his his shots and also had some nice dunks. Compared to Moore he got to play off the ball much more no pun intended. Moore was playing almost all his minutes as the guy that was supposed to run the offense and create for others. Harris wasn't tasked with that and some people on this board were ripping him at times for not passing. Idk if that was fair but the roles between him and Moore were not comparable at all to me. That's significant.

[Q-is-here]

Kevon Harris, we hardly knew ye....

Other notes:

- The big takeaway with Moore Jr. is that he appeared athletically a step slow on both ends IMO. That's fine if he's super crafty with an elite shooting touch, but he bricked a bunch of shots too. Bottom line....wait and see if eventually he figures things out. Plenty of time for him to develop.

- Minott on the other hand looked the part athletically and acted the part with a fairly brash approach. Love it! We need some attack dogs and merchants of chaos trying to claw their way into the rotation, ala Vando a couple seasons ago. It may take him a couple years, but he may hard to keep off the floor by his sophomore season.

[Lipoli390]

Anyone catch the recent athletic article on the summer league? If not, Hollinger explains what type of players summer league is geared toward...small, quick guards who shoot a lot. It's not to say other bigs, like this years top 3, didn't also ball out, but more why some players do not stand out, and do rather quite bad. Maybe this explains why Wendell Moore Jr and Matteo Spagnolo really didn't stand out much, that they are complementary players that do well with a different style of play and-or better team mates around them like Lip previously suggested....it doesn't really explain why Kevon Harris did pretty well, except he had the ball in his hands most of the time...

Harris did well because he was stronger and quicker than most of those he played against. And he has a nice handle. That combination made him very formidable at the Summer League level - which players claim is faster than G-League competition. It's likely that the Wolves' choice of AJ over Harris won't matter in the broader scheme of things. But I still think it was a mistake. Tim Connelly and I just don't appear to be in sync. :)