Denver Nuggets: The Gary Harris extension is a coup

Just months after considering trading Gary Harris, the Denver Nuggets have committed to him long-term, which is a brilliant move.

The NBA is just now exiting the most tumultuous offseason in recent league history. Star players changed teams in free agency and bitter rivals made blockbuster trades. For the Denver Nuggets, though, the biggest move was one that didn’t happen.

Rewind to late June. The 2017 NBA Draft was less than a week ago. Rumors are swirling, and Indiana Pacers star Paul George is publicly on the trade block.

The Nuggets see an opportunity. It’s not George they want, you see. The Cleveland Cavaliers are hellbent on acquiring George, and the Nuggets are willing to facilitate the deal in return for a lesser All-Star in Cavs big man Kevin Love. And they’re willing to pay a hefty price to get him.

At the center of the haul, the Nuggets are sending in return for Love is Gary Harris.

Fast forward to today, long after the deal fell through. George is a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Love — just as no one guessed — actually outlasted Kyrie Irving in Cleveland.

As for Gary Harris:

Three months ago, Harris was possibly on his way out. Had Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard not inexplicably nixed the three-team deal he had tentatively agreed to with Denver and Cleveland, Harris would have been unceremoniously ousted from Denver’s future. That’s quite the about-face.

Here’s the skinny, though: this could not have worked out better for the Nuggets.

Back in June, Denver was set to add Love at Harris’ expense. Love, a skilled offensive big man, formerly a 4, now seemingly a 5, would have been an abysmal fit in Denver.

Love is immensely talented and perpetually underappreciated. However, his considerable offensive versatility would have been largely wasted next to Nikola Jokic, the present and future in Denver.

While Jokic and Love certainly would have eventually meshed on offense, the more pressing concern would have been the duo’s defense. Suffice it to say, it would have been ugly.

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Ultimately, free agent addition Paul Millsap is a far better complement to Jokic than Love would have been. Denver avoided a major blunder simply by not acquiring Love, but the benefits are compounded by the retention of Harris.

In 2016-17, Harris posted an exceptional true shooting percentage of 61.1 percent. Among players 22 or younger, the only ones to post better marks (minimum 250 minutes played) were Jokic, Clint Capela, Nerlens Noel and Karl-Anthony Towns, per Basketball-Reference.

Capela and Noel are extremely low-usage, high-efficiency role players. Jokic and Towns are among the NBA’s best offensive players. Harris’ company is elite.

While I’m not yet ready to anoint him the next Tony Allen, Harris can hold his own on the defensive end, too. The Nuggets’ defensive rating was a substantial 6.2 points per 100 possessions better with Harris on the floor than off last year.

Harris is young, excels on offense and can hold his own on defense. He has all the makings of a player you should commit to without hesitation, which makes Nuggets management’s performance here so commendable.

Harris got just $84 million over four years (only $74 million of which is guaranteed). In the context of recent extensions for youthful off-guards, that’s incredible value for a player of Harris’ caliber.

Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell, just a couple days prior to Harris, signed on for another four years in Toronto for a total of $42 million. In September, Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson reached an identical agreement.

Last summer, Victor Oladipo, the young guard who was actually traded for Paul George this offseason, signed the same four-year, $84 million extension (fully guaranteed, though).

Oladipo, Powell, and Richardson are all good players. Harris is markedly better than all three. He’s a more efficient scorer, equal or better defender, and younger.

Three months after trying to jettison Gary Harris in misguided pursuit of a big-name star, the Nuggets have made a significant commitment to the fourth-year guard.

Given the outstanding ability Harris has already demonstrated, his development could entirely stagnate right now, and the deal he signed would still represent a positive for Denver — there will always be a market for guards who can defend and shoot the three.

Next: 10 bold predictions for 2017-18 NBA season

But if the improvement that Denver believes Harris can make comes, Scott Pritchard’s late-June gaffe could prove momentous, as Harris develops into one of the better 2-guards in the league, and one heck of a bargain.