People say great shooters can play forever in the NBA. The recent retirement of Joe Harris shows that accuracy alone isn't enough to hang around in the highly athletic league.
After 10 NBA seasons, Joe Harris has retired from basketball. Harris played 504 NBA games for the Nets, Cavaliers and Pistons. He was a career 43.6 percent three-point shooter and won the Three-Point Contest at 2019 All-Star weekend. pic.twitter.com/2eLPJAhLzU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 15, 2024
At his peak, Harris was one of the NBA's best three-point shooters. He twice led the league in three-point percentage, hitting over 47 percent of his triples in both the 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 seasons while taking a high volume of shots behind the arc. Harris even defeated Stephen Curry in the Three-Point Contest at the 2019 All-Star Weekend.
But Harris fell off a cliff after suffering an ankle injury early in the 2021-2022 season. He only played 14 games before opting for season-ending surgery. Though he shot an excellent 42.6 percent from deep in 2022-2023, his diminished athleticism made the 6-foot-6 shooter nearly unplayable. After a salary-dump trade to Detroit before last season, Harris played just 16 games for the team, despite the Pistons being one of the NBA's poorest-shooting teams.
That's why shooting proficiency simply isn't enough for a player to achieve longevity. When you look at the oldest players in the NBA, you see players who tend to be tall, incredibly athletic or both. Aside from a few aging player-coaches like Nat Hickey and Bob Cousy, the list of the NBA's oldest players includes athletic centers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Willis, along with freak athletes like Vince Carter, who could still do highlight dunks in street clothes at age 42.
Vince Carter could dunk in his sleep.
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 6, 2019
(Via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/jOOwpo9LMo
A player will inevitably lose some athleticism as he ages. That's why the players who last are the ones who were once incredibly quick, like Chris Paul, or have remarkable hand-eye coordination and endurance like Stephen Curry. Or, they have overwhelming strength and explosiveness, like LeBron James. All three of those players can also shoot, but it's their other physical gifts that keep them relevant.
Harris could probably still beat most NBA players in a three-point contest, but he simply lost the mobility to stay on the court. Shooting is a valuable skill, but to last in the NBA into your mid-thirties requires some truly exceptional physical gifts.
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Josh Giddey, like most of his fellow restricted free agents, has spent much of the summer holding out for the best possible contract offer. The 22-year-old has reportedly been looking for a deal that pays him close to $30 million annually, but that's a pipe dream for a player who hasn't made positive contributions on a winning team. However, he may have just received the best offer he'll get from the Chicago Bulls — or any team, for that matter. Following extension talks that have spent weeks in limbo, the Bulls put a long-term offer on the table, according to Chicago Sports Network's K.C. Johnson. The deal would reportedly pay Giddey an average of $20 million per year, a much more reasonable number. Giddey will be hard-pressed to find a more lucrative contract offer, despite his potential. No matter how long he waits, no team is going to throw borderline All-Star money for a player with pronounced weaknesses. He has averaged 14.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game across four seasons. For that reason, Giddey should take Chicago's offer. But even if the Bulls do keep their guy, an extension of this magnitude would only reinforce what many believe about the team: It's a franchise with no direction. Possessing a roster without a true star, the Bulls are setting themselves up for disappointment if they expect Giddey to reach that level of effectiveness. The franchise would be better off betting on Coby White's future rather than a guard who struggles to both shoot and defend. Giddey should be elated that the Bulls decided to meet him halfway on a contract offer, especially considering his lack of other suitors. If an extension does get done, though, Chicago will eventually look back and wonder if those resources could have been better spent elsewhere. With a return to the draft lottery likely, the Bulls don't have any expectations for 2025-26. But rather than try something new after several years of underperforming and missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, Chicago is falling into the trap of committing to mediocrity.
The Chicago Bears don’t appear satisfied with their running back room with one week left to decide the 53-man roster. The Bears have until Aug. 26 to make their final cuts before preparing for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. The Bears entered training camp with questions at running back. Veteran D’Andre Swift had a down year in 2024. Roschon Johnson isn’t a long-term solution, and seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai will have a steep learning curve when the regular season begins. The Chicago Bears worked out a former running back Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC, the Bears worked out running backs Royce Freeman, undrafted rookie Kylin James and former Carolina Panthers practice-squad player Dillon Johnson. Royce Freeman played with the Bears in 2024 Of the three, Freeman is the only running back with stats at the NFL level. Freeman, a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2018, has appeared in 79 games and started nine games. He’s rushed 471 times for 1,472 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Bears signed Freeman to the practice squad in December. He was then signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad in January. He last played a regular-season game in 2023, when he added 319 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games for the Rams. The Bears are signaling their need for a running back this summer. There are other options available in the trade market, as the Washington Commanders are shopping Brian Robinson Jr. during the preseason. More running backs will be available after other teams trim their rosters to 53 players, but they might not be the type of athletes to make a significant boost for the offense early in the regular season.
The White Sox snapped their four-game losing streak on Monday night at Truist Park in emphatic fashion. The offense had been quiet of late, scoring just five runs over the last four games, but it exploded for a season-high 13 runs and 19 hits in the 13-9 victory. Brooks Baldwin, Luis Robert Jr., Lenyn Sosa and Kyle Teel each hit home runs and eight White Sox drove in at least one run. The only starter who did not record a hit was rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery, who left in the sixth inning with what the team announced as left side soreness. After working a seven-pitch walk, Montgomery was seen grimacing and placing his hand on his side while standing on first base. He stayed in the game as Sosa gave the White Sox a 10-1 lead with a three-run home run in the next at-bat. But when the team came out for the bottom of the sixth inning, manager Will Venable made some defensive changes. Curtis Mead entered the game at first base, Lenyn Sosa moved to second base, Chase Meidroth shifted to shortstop to replace Montgomery. "I just took a swing on a foul ball and I kind of felt a little bit of a stretch," Montgomery said postgame, per MLB.com's Scott Merkin. "But I mean nothing crazy or anything like that. Got on first and they saw I was feeling for it and they asked me if I felt something and I was like yeah, but nothing too serious." Montgomery, 23, made history earlier in the season as he became the first rookie and the youngest player in White Sox history to hit 10 home runs in an 18-game span from July 22 to Aug. 11. It took Montgomery just 32 games to hit 10 home runs, good for the third-fastest pace in White Sox history. Zeke Bonura hit 10 home runs in his first 25 games in 1934, and in 2014 Jose Abreu slugged 10 long balls in 26 games, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. Following his 10th home run, Montgomery's OPS had risen to .876 and he ranked third in MLB with 24 RBIs since the All-Stat break. He's cooled off since that point, though, going 3-for-24 with one double, no home runs, two RBIs, one walk and eight strikeouts over the last six games. A 2021 first-round draft pick, Montgomery was the White Sox top prospect from 2022-24. Through 38 games and 145 plate appearances, he's slashing .220/.285/.492/.777 with 10 home runs, four doubles, 19 runs, one triple, 28 RBIs, 11 walks and 42 strikeouts. He's tied for fourth among White Sox position players at 1.0 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. The White Sox continue their three-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. CT.
There has been a lot of talk about how Khamzat Chimaev won the UFC middleweight title. Following his dominant performance at UFC 319 in Chicago this past Saturday, Chimaev is now the 185-pound champion. Most thought he would need to get it done early, but Chimaev controlled Dricus du Plessis for all five rounds, racking up 21 minutes and 40 seconds of control time and landing a record 529 strikes along the way. His wrestling and takedowns made the difference, but some fans were not impressed by his approach or his lack of urgency in chasing a finish. Javier Mendez backs Khamzat Chimaev’s approach in win over Dricus du Plessis Chimaev violently submitted Robert Whittaker in October 2024, earning a title shot and living up to the MMA community’s expectations for in-Octagon violence. However, against DDP, he chose a different strategy. ‘Borz’ adopted a more patient approach at UFC 319, which left many fans frustrated. That reaction has not gone down well with Javier Mendez, Islam Makhachev’s longtime coach and former trainer of Khabib Nurmagomedov. “He did what he wanted to do. He ragdolled him. The game plan [was] to take DDP down. That’s what I would have said. I would have told him exactly what he did. That is exactly what I would have had him do.” “Why? This is your one big opportunity to win the biggest prize. You can be the biggest guy. For a long time, we haven’t had one this big.” On The Javier Mo Show, Mendez also spoke about how rare it is for fighters to get another chance at gold if they fall short the first time. “This guy could be really big, so why risk it? I would tell him, ‘Just take him down. And if he gets back up, take him down again.’ “Sometimes people say, ‘Oh, it’s boring.’ Well, okay, whose fault is it that it’s boring? If the person can’t stop you from taking him down and he wants to stand, it’s your fault! Stand up! If not, learn your game.” Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 gameplan backed by Demetrious Johnson Chimaev also has the flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson in his corner. The former champion, like Mendez did, defended the Chechen Wolf’s style during a live reaction stream of the event, telling viewers who complained about wrestling to just stop watching the sport. “If you guys don’t wanna watch grappling and wrestling and jiu-jitsu – don’t watch the UFC. “You guys are complaining about something that is a very easy problem to fix. For example, let’s say Khamzat is about to fight again, you don’t wanna watch his style. All you’ve gotta do is go like this: you see this button right here, it’s called off button,” the ‘Mighty Mouse’ said. “You don’t have to see Khamzat wrestle. It’s a very simple problem to fix guys. You guys are making it a bigger deal than it is.”
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