"Devin Harris' first thought when he joined the Jazz was simple but hopeful: "Playoffs, baby."

The hope is gone for Utah. And little has worked out as Harris initially imagined when he was exchanged midseason for Deron Williams, trading an increasingly depressing tenure in New Jersey for what was supposed to be a bright new start with the Jazz. Utah is just 6-16 since D-Will was replaced, while the player who assumed his reign has endured false starts, injuries and teamwide frustration.

The rebuilding Jazz are at a crossroad. So is Harris. Just three years ago, he was an All-Star with rising stock, close to cracking the elite tier of point guards. But that was before the youth movement began, as young guns such as Chicago's Derrick Rose, Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook and Boston's Rajon Rondo soared to the top. And that was before Harris was buried in Jersey, performing under broken lights for the bottom-of-the-barrel Nets - a franchise that won only 12 games last season and has captured just 24 victories in 2010-11.

"Anytime you lose as much as I've lost in the past couple years, you get slipped in and kind of forgotten about," Harris said.

A new generation of highly athletic, multi-dimensional point guards now represent the best that the NBA has to offer. Is the ex-Net still in the mix? Most of his numbers fail to crack the top 10 at his position this season, while even Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin acknowledged that Harris will be carrying extra weight when the 2011-12 campaign begins.

"He feels he has a little something to prove again," Corbin said. "He hasn't had the successes he's had after making the All-Star team."

Harris isn't concerned with making anyone's top-10 fantasy list. He knows who he is, what he has done and what he can still do. Mature, confident, intelligent and self-aware, the No. 5 overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft doesn't think he's come close to hitting his peak.

"You can't look back. You've just got to continue to look forward," Harris said. "A lot of things you can't control, a lot of things you can. But you just come into every situation as opportunistic and just look forward."

Ask Harris his strengths and weaknesses and he knows them all. He is one of the premier point guards in the league at driving toward the basket and getting to the free-throw line; his midrange shot can sing. But he also vows to fine-tune his 3-point shooting and off-ball defense.

"I try to win the battle of guards every night - that's my goal," Harris said.

A 26-point performance on 9-of-16 shooting Thursday against Portland - including a career-high-tying five made 3-pointers - provided a glimpse of what a healthy, synced-up Harris can accomplish with the ball in his hands. The Jazz's renowned offensive system showed serious signs of slippage during Harris' seven-game absence due to a strained right hamstring, as the pick-and-roll washed away and hard screens vanished. But sharp execu