The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired forward Moe Harkless from the Orlando Magic in exchange for a future second-round pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The deal comes together for Portland not long after the team discovered its offer sheet to big man Enes Kanter will be matched by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Blazers acquire Moe Harkless from Magic
Orlando will receive a future second-round pick in exchange for the forward.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Harkless, 22, spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Magic after being selected 15th overall in the 2012 draft out of St. John’s. He played a significant role as a rookie, averaging 26 minutes per game, but didn’t see the court nearly as much by the end of his third season.
The Magic have consistently added more frontcourt talent since drafting Harkless, and this summer they re-signed Tobias Harris and nabbed Mario Hezonja with the No. 5 pick in the draft. With Channing Frye, Aaron Gordon, Andrew Nicholson and Devyn Marble also on the roster, there just weren't going to be many minutes for Harkless.
He will likely get a bigger chance in Portland, where the franchise is going through a rebuild after losing LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews to free agency and Nicolas Batum via trade. The team has already added several other young players, including Al Farouq-Aminu and Noah Vonleh, to a core that's centered on All-Star point guard Damian Lillard.
Harkless averaged just 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 45 games with Orlando last season. Not only were his minutes down to 15 per game, but he shot 40 percent from the floor and 18 percent from three. During the 2013-14 season, he averaged 7.4 points per game while shooting 46 percent overall and 38 percent from deep. Harkless is set to make $2.9 million next season, then the Blazers will have a team option for 2016-17.
See More:
