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SALT LAKE CITY — For one day, newly acquired Jazz guard Shaquille Harrison was suddenly three inches taller than he had ever been.
After the NBA's official measurements during last year's training camp, Harrison was suddenly listed at 6-foot-7 by both the Bulls and the NBA. That was news to Harrison, who laughed at the mix-up and said "I wish I was 6-foot-7."
Opposing scorers, however, do not. At 6-foot-4, Harrison is already tough enough to get buckets on.
The Utah Jazz fans who have been pleading for additional perimeter defense got their wish. The Jazz signed former Chicago Bulls guard Shaquille Harrison, the team announced Wednesday. The Athletic reports the deal is for a one-year minimum contract.
Harrison's stats won't jump off the page; he's a 29% career 3-point shooter and averaged just 6.0 points in his first three seasons in the NBA. He's been an energy player on bad teams thus far, but his defensive metrics show his true value.
Last season, he was 15th in the NBA in Defensive Real Plus-Minus (for reference, Utah's Rudy Gobert was first). Harrison's 4.9 deflections per 36 minutes and 2.3 loose balls recovered per 36 minutes were among the league leaders according to NBA.com's hustle stats.
Those numbers are why the Jazz are bringing him in. The memory of Jamal Murray torching the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs is still pretty fresh and that was far from the first time Utah's had trouble slowing an elite scorer — or no elite scorer — down.
There were nine wing players last season that averaged over 30 points against the Jazz last season — led by Damian Lillard, who scored 42.3 points in his three games against Utah. The list includes some who would expect — Lillard, James Harden, Bradley Beal — but there are some surprises, too. Collin Sexton? Eric Gordon? Those are shockers.
All you really had to do was look at Gordon's 50-spot in a Rockets' win over the Jazz with Houston without James Harden and Russell Westbrook to know there was some trouble.
Does that mean Harrison will have a large role in Utah? No. He's probably not going to play 20-plus minutes per game and it's likely he'll be sitting on the bench for the entirety of many games. But he could be an important piece when he is called on. The Jazz would have really liked to have him to throw at Murray, at Lillard, at Gordon, and any of the other top scorers who have caused Utah headaches in the past.
If you're looking for a sliver of hope that the combo guard might be more than just a defensive specialist, he did shoot 38% from 3-point range last season (albeit on just 42 attempts). But that's likely an aberration. Harrison hit on just 26% from deep in his first two seasons in the league. His shot needs to be improved — but that's not why the Jazz got him.
If nothing else, the Jazz have added a defender they can throw at some of the top-scoring guards.
The move comes just days before the Jazz return to Vivint Arena to begin play. Utah will begin the preseason Saturday at home against the Phoenix Suns, and then tip off the regular season on Dec. 23 at Portland.
