The Denver Nuggets used the 19th overall pick on Gary Harris, out of Michigan State. Harris is a bit undersized at 6’4.5″ (in shoes), with a 6’7″ reach, and weighs a solid 205 pounds. He is a tremendous worker, is a total hustler with a nose for the ball on defense, and can attack the rim and really stretch the floor.
Harris is just 19 years old and left Michigan State after his sophomore season. He shot 41% from three-point range as a freshman on 4.6 attempts per game, where he also scored 12.9 points, tallied 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. As a sophomore his three-point shooting took a dip to 35.2% on an increased 6.6 attempts, but he raised his other averages to 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.8 steals. He also increased his free throw shooting from 75% on 2.9 attempts to 81% on 4.1 attempts.
Here is a blurb on Harris from our friends at Draft Express:
Harris has nice versatility for a shooting guard, starting with his excellent perimeter stroke. He is very effective with both his feet set and off the dribble, making 40% and 41% of his attempts in these situations respectively. He has good mechanics and range, and has the added bonus of being capable of coming off screens, which is another tool that can be utilized by his NBA coach in the half-court. If a defense is aggressively trying to take away his ability to make shots from beyond the arc, Harris knows how to create space for himself to get his jumper off in the mid-range, using his strong frame, and can also attack a closeout semi-effectively in a straight line to the rim.
Harris is also an excellent defender, capable of guarding both backcourt positions. He has outstanding fundamentals on this end of the floor, always getting in a low stance and putting very good effort in, and showing excellent awareness both on and off the ball. A physical player who uses his strong frame well, Harris has very good anticipation skills, which allows him to get in the passing lanes regularly and even come up with an occasional block. He was very well schooled under Tom Izzo, and does a good job in team concepts, which should help him get on the court relatively quickly in the NBA.
Harris has a strong basketball IQ in general, which translates to the offensive end as well. He doesn't turn the ball over very often (2.1 per-40), and is an unselfish passer who executes well in the half-court. He'll generate a couple of assists each game by making a simple extra pass ahead in transition or finding an open shooter or cutter within the flow of the offense.
Harris is a very promising prospect and has a ton of potential to develop into the starting shooting guard the Nuggets have been looking for. Don't be surprised if Harris competes for immediate minutes this season in Denver, he's that NBA ready.
Harris was widely rumored to be on the Nuggets' radar and now he's your newest Denver Nuggets player. You might see a little Arron Afflalo in Harris' game, but he's also very good with the ball in his hands and could become a very dangerous player on this level.
Also:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Also, Anthony Randolph is set to be included in the CHI trade. So the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash">#Nuggets</a> will continue to have 13 players on the roster</p>— Chris Dempsey (@dempseypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/dempseypost/statuses/482339148225724418">June 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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