Player Profiles: Manny Harris

Conrad: I assume you are referring to the 3-game stretch in January when he score 20, 20 and 19 points in consecutive games. If I remember correctly, the team was riddled with injuries at that time (shocking, I know) and Manny was given some pretty significant playing time. For the whole season, he averaged 17.3 minutes per game, yet played over 30 minutes in each of those games. That goes to show that when he gets the time to play, he can actually put up some decent numbers. As far as my overall outlook on Manny, that's a little more complicated. I've always been a fan of his, going back to his days at the University of Michigan. I was somewhat disappointed when he went undrafted and was excited when the Cavaliers decided to give him a shot. To go from undrafted player to getting significant minutes in the NBA is already quite an accomplishment. So, to answer your original question, it depends on what the expectations are. Did my expectations of him change much after that stretch? No, not really. After that, he came back down to earth, obviously, yet occasionally showed flashes of significant potential. I never started to believe that he would become an all-star or even a starter. He's probably a role player at best, but if you had told me after draft night that Manny Harris would averaged 17 minutes per game with an NBA team after not being selected, that would have been considered irrationally optimistic, so I guess I'm not counting anything out right now.

Aaron: Will Manny ever evolve into a backup point guard, commensurate with his size?

Conrad: This is a more complicated question that it appears. In my mind I see Manny Harris as a backup guard. He's a bit of a tweener. He plays more like a shooting guard, but is probably a little undersized for that. I wouldn't say that he's either a shooting guard or a point guard, but just a guard. He can come off the bench and give your backcourt starters a rest and kind of hold his own at either spot. The thing about being a guy off the bench is that you don't necessarily need all of the standard positions. In that sense, I think he will continue to be listed on the roster as "guard" without any other modifier. So now, that I have effectively dodged the original question for a paragraph, I'll attempt to kind of answer it. Will he ever evolve into a backup guard that will dominate the ball and orchestrate an offense? I don't see it. But then again, Nate Robinson was once a backup point guard on a really good team, so I guess it is possible. In my mind, I see Manny Harris' ceiling as a poor man's Jason Terry. I think he could potentially be a 6th man for a decent team if he reaches his full potential. As I talked about in the first question, he displayed flashes on potential. He can be productive if he gets the minutes. He has a pretty good 3-point shot, especially for a rookie (37%). If he can become a more efficient scorer and a better defender, he can definitely become a valuable role player for a contending team.