“I am a big fan of James Harden,” an excited 22-year-old Kevon Harris said in the wake of declaring for the 2019 NBA draft. The Ellenwood, Georgia native has always had his eyes on the big league. Although he ultimately opted to return to Stephen F. Austin for his senior season, Harris’ goal remained the same. And now, it looks like the NBA journeyman might just get both of his wishes.

Shams Charania of The Athletic tweeted the latest news on the 6’5 guard on X. “Free agent guard Kevon Harris plans to sign a training camp deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, per agent Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management. Harris – after 36 NBA games across past two seasons with Magic – will compete for a roster spot with the Clippers.”

The Clippers’ offseason has been eventful, to say the least. They lost two key pieces in star guard, Paul George to the 76ers and Russell Westbrook to the 2023 NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets. Given that LA’s 15-man roster is full, our free agent here will most likely compete for a spot with guard Elijah Harkless and point guard Ray J Dennis. That spot will be the third and final two-way contract spot along with SF Jordan Miller (second-year) and rookie swingman, Trentyn Flowers.

Kevon Harris and his G League journey

Having gone undrafted in 2020, Harris was subsequently selected 11th overall in the 2021 G League draft by Raptors 905. He played in 31 games for the 905, starting in 23 of them in the second season. But in Harris’ first season, the Lumberjack alum had a short stint overseas, signing with top Croatian basketball club, KK Zadar. Per a local news portal, Antena Portal Zadar and translated via Google Translate, Kevon Harris only played in five games with the club.

According to then-coach, Ivan Perinčić, the 27-year-old returned due to family problems. “Due to family problems that caused him to be distracted, he was simply not present mentally during the matches. We tried to help him in various ways, he himself expressed his wish that he would like to return home and solve all his problems.”

After the Raptors, the Magic signed him on a two-way contract. With the G League affiliate, Osceola Magic, Harris played a total of 47 games, starting in 40 of them. As for his time with Orlando, Kevon suited up for 36 matchups, averaging a modest stat line of 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 44.5% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc. Interestingly, in a December 2022 heated on-court altercation between the Magic and Pistons, Harris received a one-game suspension without pay for leaving the bench.

“I started taking it serious in high school,”: Kevon was a star at MLK

Kevon Lavelle Harris was born on June 24, 1997, to Kevin and Tameka Harris. The Georgia native set himself apart at Martin Luther King High School with his spectacular performances. In his 2014-15 season, Harris led the Lions to the quarterfinals of the state tournament, averaging 15.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.

Under his leadership, MLK had a 24-6 record and was ranked the 31st-best high school team in the state. After graduation, he attended DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida for a year of college prep before signing with SFA. In his four seasons there, Kevon appeared for 127 games, starting in 104. In his senior year, the Southland Player of the Year averaged 17.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals in 29.3 minutes of game time.

One of just three Lumberjacks ever to suit up for the NBA (the last SFA alum is James Silas – last played for the Cavs in 1982), Kevon Harris holds the record of SFA’s all-time Division I leading scorer with 1,833 points. Despite all of these, it seems like Harris believes he could have done more if he had begun earlier. “I started taking it serious in high school. I think I could be further today if I would have started earlier at taking it serious.”

While the vision he had for himself did not exactly play out as he imagined, this is as good a chance as it gets.

Kevon’s chance to make his case is now

Although he dropped the 2019 NBA Draft and then went undrafted the next year, Harris knows what he’s capable of. “I always feel like I bring a big presence to the court so I will have to let them see me play.” Well, now is the chance. The LA Clippers are starting afresh. With their shiny new arena, the Intuit Dome, Steve Ballmer is hoping to create a fresh identity for the Los Angeles-based basketball team.

And while the offseason’s best deal was getting defensive-first swingman Derrick Jones from the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year $30 million deal, it still leaves a lot to be desired. LA superstar Kawhi Leonard is a force to reckon with (obviously) when healthy. And injuries aren’t something one can predict. The best the Clippers can do is hope the ‘Klaw’ remains, at the very least, as healthy as he has been this last season.

James Harden, for his part, re-signed with LA on a two-year $70 million deal. However, the 10x All-Star’s production in the 2023-24 season hasn’t been promising. An average of 16.6 points (lowest scoring average since 2011-12), 8.5 assists, and 5.1 rebounds was his stat line.

Hopefully, Kevon Harris can finally land that NBA dream amidst all this noise in the Clippers.