Could Joe Harris Lose His Roster Spot?
When the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Joe Harris early in the 2nd Round of last year’s NBA Draft he was seen as their young shooter. The thought was that Harris would develop into an off the ball threat that could thrive, and be cheap, next to Kyrie Irving and then when LeBron James signed in free agency.
Harris showed very little last year at the NBA level but showed sparks with the Cavs D-League team the Canton Charge. His confidence on that level was exactly what the Cavs had hoped for as he took shots and even ran the team some.
Yet, with preseason underway, we sit with an interesting question in front of us: “Could Joe Harris lose his roster spot?”
After all the signings were said and done, most expected Harris would make the team as a shooter with a guaranteed contract. He was penciled in behind Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. Then Shump went down with his injury and Harris’ spot seemed even more certain. Except it wasn’t.
As a shooter, the Cavs can be okay with Harris as their 3rd off guard, someone who won’t get off the bench much but they can continue to develop. Now, with Shump out, the Cavs may be looking for a more well rounded player as the primary backup to J.R., which Harris hasn’t shown he can be.
The Cavs have some interesting depth that will help them get through the loss of Shumpert. Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova can both play the off guard spot, the all offense, all defense combo. Yet both will be needed early in the season to take the minutes of Kyrie Irving, who is unlikely to play on Opening Night. That would leave the Cavs very thin at the guard spots.
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Richard Jefferson could see some minutes there, much like Shawn Marion did last year, but the Cavs hope to keep him fresh for the long haul.
Harris isn’t making things easier on himself either. In the Cavs first preseason game he shot 1-5, including 0-3 from deep. He produced no other tallies in the scorebook besides a foul. In the second game, he was a little better. 2-5 and 1-3 from deep. He also contributed a rebound and 2 assists while turning the ball over twice.
It has been assumed that Quinn Cook, Austin Daye, Jared Cunningham and D.J. Stephens were all competing for the Cavs final roster spot. Its possible now that two of those four could make it. Cook has shown well that he can run the offense, while Daye rained down 3s in the opening game (4 in 10 minutes). Cunningham showed flashes of being Shump-like with his quickness on defense and ability to hit shots. He led the team with 31 points in the second game.
Harris has to show something soon or his “certain” roster spot could quickly become uncertain.
Do you think Joe Harris makes the Cavs roster?