The New Jersey Nets won’t have very good NBA betting odds to win the championship, but there are few stories in the league that are as good as Devin Harris. The point guard was a star at Wisconsin, winning a pair of Big Ten titles before leaving for the league, where he was drafted by Dallas. The Mavericks, particularly former coach Avery Johnson, seemed to be unable to give Harris the control a point guard needed, and he underachieved before he was traded to New Jersey for future Hall-of-Famer Jason Kidd. Harris has since exploded, becoming an All-Star for the first time this year, and essentially dragging the Nets to the playoffs. And then, he came up with the play of the year last night against Philadelphia:

No slight on J-Kidd, he’s goin’ straight to the Hall, and he’s a legend. But Dallas messed this trade up bigtime. Harris is only 25 and just entering the prime of his career, while Kidd is on the downside and the Mavericks still aren’t close to being a championship contender in the tough West. If the Nets can put some pieces around Harris, and if rookie big man Brook Lopez can continue to improve, New Jersey could be a problem soon.