The Blazers Acquire Moe Harkless From The Magic

Monday, July 13, 2015

Robby Davis, GolocalPDX Contributor

This has been one of the busiest offseasons that the Portland Trail Blazers have endured in quite some time. Since the playoffs concluded the Blazers have kept only one starter from last year’s team. Nicolas Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets and LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez all left via free agency. Damian Lillard will be the only returner from last year’s team.

On Sunday, Portland was able to acquire another young player to add to their team. They agreed to send a future 2nd round pick to the Orlando Magic for Moe Harkless. Harkless was the 15th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. Throughout his 3-year career he’s averaged 6.8 points, .8 assists and 3.5 rebounds. Although he didn’t play a ton of minutes last season Harkless is still a young player full of potential. With Orlando's roster constantly in flux he wasn’t able to truly find a niche with the team. But with Portland deciding to rebuild the 22 year old will surely be able to find some playing time this upcoming season.

The Harkless trade came right the Blazers were informed that Enes Kanter’s deal was going to be matched by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland had offered Kanter a 4-year deal for a reported $70 million dollars.

The deal to acquire Harkless appears to be a low-risk high-reward situation that could prove to pay dividends in the long run. It’s no secret that the Blazers are in need of more players who can play out on the wing. Harkless is a young guy who Rip City will become familiar with in the upcoming months.

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