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Gary Harris may have slipped to 19th in the NBA Draft, but he's in a great position to succeed with the Denver Nuggets.
Harris provides depth to a Nuggets team that likely would have made the playoffs if they had better luck with injuries.
After Denver re-acquired shooting guard Arron Afflalo from Orlando, he was penciled in as the starter. Spot starter (and 30 year old vet) Randy Foye will likely be relegated to the bench, and Harris' biggest competition for playing time.
Harris brings an Afflalo-like skill set to the NBA as a rookie, as a player with an exceptional catch and shoot ability. Like Afflalo, he can eventually become a "do-everything" type of guard. While undersized, Harris still managed to average three rebounds and three assists per game all while being the primary scorer. In Denver, he should be able to improve his all around game with more firepower around him.
Harris is a better defender than Foye already. Despite his 6'4 height, he regularly guarded taller forwards like Michigan's Nik Stauskas. Scouts believe his lateral quickness would be good enough to stay in front of elite two-guards in the league.
With a dynamic penetrating point guard like Ty Lawson, Harris is in a great position to contribute immediately. He'll spread the floor- along with Wilson Chandler- clearing lanes for Lawson to get into the paint. Kenneth Faried will have more freedom to show his athleticism, rebounding, and dunking ability.
Harris showed he was a great ballplayer at MSU, with elite abilities. Those elite abilities, shooting and defense, will allow the former Spartan to find immediate playing time- while developing in Denver's up-tempo system.