Aaron Harrison: An Intriguing Prospect For The Charlotte Hornets

It’s been an interesting road for Aaron Harrison.

Like just about any recruit that ends up playing for John Calipari at Kentucky, Harrison was one of the top prospects in the country, a McDonald’s All-American along with his twin brother and ranked No. 7 by Rivals in the 2013 class (Andrew, No. 5).

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One-and-done didn’t happen for either Harrison and in those two years at Kentucky, their NBA prospects grew smaller and smaller despite experiencing a ton of success. In this year’s draft, Aaron Harrison didn’t just go undrafted. He watched six of his teammates from last season get picked, including his twin.

This week though, he signed a two-year deal with the Charlotte Hornets. The deal is only partially guaranteed this season with a team option for the next.

An already impressive Summer League showing in Orlando has it looking like Harrison might be around for longer rather than not. He averaged 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Most impressive may have been his ability to finish at the rim, something that has always been questioned in his game due to his average wingspan and explosiveness, and something that is valued quite a bit in the NBA.

Harrison was probably most known for his outside shooting in college. He gained the reputation as a clutch shooter, too, especially during Kentucky’s 2014 tournament run in which he made three game-winning jumpers.

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He’ll certainly have to be an above average outside shooter to make it work at the next level. In his two seasons in college, he shot 35.6 percent and then just 31.6 percent as a sophomore from three. In Orlando, he struggled quite a bit, hitting just 23.8 percent. But he has a very consistent stroke and has displayed the ability to hit from range.

Even more may be asked from Harrison on offense as suggested by Charlotte Observer columnist, Tom Sorensen, who wrote, “Harrison will have to play the point and, presumably, drift over to shooting guard on occasion.”

Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin are 1-2 on the point guard depth chart and Brian Roberts is also still around. P.J. Hairston and Jeremy Lamb are a couple of two-guards that will be given a chance before Harrison and there are plenty more wings expected to see playing time in Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Troy Daniels.

Harrison rarely has played the point in his career, mostly due to the fact that his twin was always in that role. It probably won’t be so much the point guard position that Charlotte hopes to see from Harrison, but creating better in the pick-and-roll and being utilized as a secondary ball handler.

Harrison gets to the rim efficiently with straight line drives (and he had a very low turnover percentage in college). That’s good and not so good. The lack of creativity is in part due to his lack of ability to do much more than straight-line drive, and it will be harder to use his strength to get past defenders in the NBA. But in theory, not wasting movement, like say, a Lance Stephenson, can be a positive if you’re athletic enough. That is still up for debate.

Fitting into a role has always appeared to be one of the strengths of Harrison. He did so at Kentucky and has the build, 6-foot-6, of a good-sized wing in this league, hopefully with 3-and-D potential. Engaged, Harrison should be able to respectably check a lot of NBA players. He had a knack for making “winning” plays at UK and that doesn’t go unnoticed anywhere.

A lot is in front of Harrison. A lot in the depth chart and a lot that he hasn’t proven yet. It’s an intriguing situation.

Once as highly touted a prospect as almost any, it’s a chip we see on Harrison’s shoulder as the first thing he must do in the NBA: fight for his job on a non-guaranteed contract.

Next: Charlotte Hornets: Grading The Offseason So Far

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