Maurice Harkless is staying with the Portland Trail Blazers for the next four years. The restricted free agent has agreed to a $40 million contract with Portland, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.
Maurice Harkless, Trail Blazers agree to $40 million contract, per report
The 23-year-old forward is sticking with the Blazers.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Harkless was acquired from the Orlando Magic before last season for a protected second-round pick, and he quickly made himself a valuable member of the Blazers’ rotation. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in the regular season, but doubled his scoring average in Portland’s first-round series win against the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA playoffs.
At 6’9, 215 pounds, Harkless is a great athlete who can man either forward spot. He’s developed into a versatile defender and a threat to score in transition. Outside shooting remains Harkless’ biggest weakness as a player. He made just 27.9 percent of his three-pointers in the regular season, but increased his percentage to 34.1 in the playoffs.
The signing of Harkless continues a heavy spending offseason for Portland. The Blazers signed Evan Turner for $70 million over four years, then retained Allen Crabbe by matching an offer sheet worth $75 million over four years. The team also locked up center Meyers Leonard on a four-year, $41 million deal.
Portland locked up C.J. McCollum earlier in the day to a four-year, $106 million contract.
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