Nets Open to Trading Harris?

So what if the Knicks win the lottery and are forced to surrender John Wall to Utah? That would be side-splitting, though it likely won't happen now that Mike D'Antoni has his team playing with something resembling a sense of purpose.

That leaves the Nets, possibly the worst team ever, picking out baby clothes and painting the locker room UK colors. Except that -- cue that funny trombone -- Devin Harris, the team's lone All-Star and de facto franchise player, also plays point guard. What's a team to do?

If you're one of those people who loves hot new trends, you'd suggest the Nets play them together, since two-point guard (or PG-ish) backcourts are in vogue this season. Even Chris Paul has had to suffer this indignity; it's also the number one question that would've arose had the Jazz ended up with this hypothetical pick.

However, there's now talk that New Jersey consider trading Harris if Wall's coming to town. Chad Ford reports:

I have sources who say the Nets are no longer sold on Harris as a core piece on the team. If they can package him with an expiring contract or two and get a young All-Star in return, they might do it. If they knew they were getting John Wall, they'd surely do it.

As with all things Nets, the first reaction here is a snicker -- after all, putting your best player on the trading block is hardly the best way to lure LeBron to town. But there's really no way of knowing if a Harris/Wall tandem would work. If they could secure a secondary star who didn't cause overlap, and draft Wall, and not lose Brook Lopez at the mall, that nucleus becomes about a hundred times more promising. They'd have that one max contract waiting for you-know-who, as well as a nice chunk of change left to sign another worthy free agent. If this summer turns into a buyer's market, there could be some serious bargains to be had. If it goes in the other direction, well, NJ can still pick up a solid piece.

Mock the Nets all you want now. With a little luck, they could end up destroying us all in 2010-11.