2. Joe Harris
Russell Westbrook’s contract is the larger of the two deals and to offset the money that the Nets would be taking in, there is potential for the Nets to include Joe Harris in the trade. While adding THT would only increase the money more, at least the Nets would be getting a young player that they could try and develop themselves.
There are reports that the Nets do potentially want to include Harris in this trade because of the offsetting money and it would be silly for the Lakers to botch at this offer. While the Lakers might want a different player instead (more on that later), getting Harris would actually be a good thing.
The concerns are that he is making just under $40 million combined over the next two years and he has not been able to stay on the court recently. Harris is coming off of a season in which he only played 14 games.
However, a healthy Harris is literally exactly what the Los Angeles Lakers need. Harris is one of the best off-ball shooters in the entire sport and with Kyrie, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Harris would have plenty of chances to shoot threes.
Harris is a career 43.9% three-point shooter and he has shot as high as 47% from three (twice!) in his NBA career. Sure, he is a bit limited defensively but he can still hold his own and isn’t a complete one-way player. He is a perfect role player for LA.
His contract does not really restrict the team all that much next year as it is still under $20 million. And even if the Lakers have to clear space, they will be able to move Harris without much of a problem because of his profile as a shooter.