Knicks Claim Jared Harper Off Waivers
Leon Rose has officially made his first roster move as the President of Basketball Operations of the New York Knicks.
As first reported by Shams Charania, the Knicks have waived two-way guard Kadeem Allen and claimed Jared Harper from the Phoenix Suns with the roster spot. In 33 G-League games with the Northern Arizona Suns, Harper posted nightly averages of 20.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and a steal in 30 minutes per game. Harper is a smaller guard, coming in at 5'10" and 175 pounds, who has shown an ability to make shots from deep. On 7.4 attempts per game last season, Harper converted 2.7 on average: good for almost 36% from beyond the arc.
In his three seasons at Auburn University, Harper started 104 out of 106 games before entering the NBA Draft. Despite averaging 15.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in his junior season, Harper went undrafted and signed a two-way deal with the Phoenix Suns.
Harper is not a particularly strong defender, in part due to his size - or lack thereof. However, his 42.5" vertical, lightning-quick speed, and ability to read the court make him an intriguing prospect. At just 22 years of age, I certainly see Harper as being worth taking a flyer on. Kadeem Allen, despite his contributions to the team during his time with the Knicks, makes sense to release as he's already 27 years old and has shown his positives do come with a ceiling.
Whoever Leon Rose and the Knicks choose as their next coach will have a young, fast, and scoring guard on a two-way contract for next season in Jared Harper. Harper will likely be spending most of his time with the Westchester squad, but might be able to play his way up to the team with home games on 33rd and 7th.
