According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Orlando Magic have officially resigned Unrestricted Free Agent Guard Garry Harris to a two-year, $26 Million Contract. After resigning fellow Unrestricted Free Agent Mo Bamba to a two-year, $21 Million Contract, Orlando decided to do the same with Harris, keeping the veteran guard in Orlando until the 2024 NBA Season. For context, Harris spent the first seven seasons (2014-2020) of his NBA career in Denver, where he averaged 29.1 MPG, 12.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.2 SPG while shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.3% from three-point range.
As a result of his consistent and reliable production, Denver signed Harris to a four-year, $84 Million Contract Extension in 2017, and was thought to be a key piece of the Nuggets’ roster moving forward. After struggling in the competitive Western Conference for multiple years, Denver decided to trade Harris, 2020 first-round pick R.J. Hampton, and a future 2025 first-round pick to Orlando in exchange for Aaron Gordon. While losing Harris was painful to the Nuggets, Gordon helped lead Denver to a 47-25 regular-season record and to the 2021 Western Conference Semifinals, where they lost to Phoenix in four games.
Shortly after Harris was sent to Orlando, he was thought to be another trade piece for Orlando to use in a future trade, as Orlando had already traded Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Gordon at the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline. In fact, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton reported that Orlando would only be a brief stop for Harris, saying he could be shipped out by the 2022 trade deadline or bought out altogether around that time. In spite of this, Harris has remained with the Magic since the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline, and has been a solid contributor for Orlando. In 81 career games with Orlando, Harris has averaged 10.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.9 APG while shooting 41.6% from the field and 38.0% from downtown.
With Harris now back in Orlando until 2024, Orlando will continue their rebuild by accumulating young talent. In addition to Harris, Orlando’s backcourt contains Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, and R.J. Hampton, all former first-round picks. Likewise, the Magic have also built up a deep frontcourt rotation, consisting of fellow first-round picks Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner, and Chuma Okeke, along with 2022 NBA Draft picks Paolo Banchero and Caleb Houstan. Since the Magic have one of the NBA’s youngest rosters, adding veteran leadership and experience isn’t a bad idea, as Harris (27 years old) can provide that over the next two seasons in Orlando.
Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris has agreed on a two-year, $26 million contract extension, his agents Austin Brown and Aaron Mintz of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022