Moe Harkless Re-Signs with Trail Blazers: Latest Contract Details and Reaction
The Portland Trail Blazers continued their push to retain young talent Tuesday, reaching an agreement with forward Moe Harkless on a four-year, $40 million contract.
Shams Charania of The Vertical reported the news, noting the deal could stretch to $42 million with incentives. Mike Richman of the Oregonian confirmed the report.
Harkless, 23, averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 2015-16. While his counting stats were still down from his first two NBA seasons, Harkless bounced back to show promise as a strong defender who can play the small-ball 4.
The playoffs offered Harkless a bit of a coming-out party, emerging as a defensive stopper who might be coming into his own offensively. He scored in double figures eight times in the Blazers' 11 postseason games and was irreplaceable in their first-round win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
"Half of the possession, I would guard Chris Paul; half of the possession, I would guard Blake Griffin," Harkless said, per James Herbert of CBS Sports. "It's just different. It shows how versatile you have to be to play those positions now in this new-age NBA."
Harkless hung on the free-agent market nearly a month because of his restricted status. Had he been an unrestricted free agent, Harkless could have commanded a long-term deal early in free agency that took him out of Portland's price range. But teams were hesitant to lock up their space when the Blazers were likely to match.
That allowed Portland to keep Harkless' cap hold low until now and preserve room for other deals. What the Blazers did with that money, however, has opened some eyebrows.
Portland lavished Evan Turner with a $70 million contract and matched a four-year offer sheet worth $75 million to Allen Crabbe. The Blazers also invested $41 million into Meyers Leonard and $15 million into Festus Ezeli before agreeing to a $106 million extension with guard C.J. McCollum.
All told, Portland has spent a little under $350 million on five players—none of whom are All-Stars. Crabbe, Ezeli, Harkless, and Turner combined for 47 starts last season. McCollum has been an NBA starter for one season.
Danny Leroux of Real GM offered the financial implications:
Good on owner Paul Allen for being willing to spend the money. But if the Blazers don't make a major, major leap in 2016-17—remember, they needed basically the entire Clippers team to get injured to advance last season—some of these deals might be on the trade market in February.
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