Portland's Maurice Harkless Could Lose $500k If He Misses 3s vs. Pelicans

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Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless may want to think twice about shooting three-pointers during Wednesday's regular-season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans at Moda Center.  

As Kristian Winfield of SB Nation explained, he will miss out on a $500,000 bonus if his three-point shooting percentage for the 2016-17 campaign falls under 35 percent following the game.

Harkless is sitting at 35.1 percent, meaning even one missed three could ultimately cost him half a million dollars.         

As Brett Pollakoff of Fox Sports wrote, the Trail Blazers are locked in with a first-round Western Conference playoff matchup versus the Golden State Warriors, so Harkless may want to stick with layups against New Orleans.        

UPDATE: Thursday, April 13 at 10:05 a.m. ET

Harkless steered clear of the three-point arc Wednesday night to preserve his $500,000 bonus. He commented on his earnings following Portland's 103-100 loss to New Orleans:

The forward attempted his last three on April 4, when he missed his only try against the Utah Jazz. During the season, he took a career-high 2.5 shots per game from long range.

He can let it rain from downtown without worrying about his bonus when Portland opens its first-round series at Golden State Sunday night.