Portland Trail Blazers Trade Rumors: Moe Harkless Trade Completed With Orlando Magic As Blazers Continue Rebuilding
Portland Trail Blazers trade rumors have apparently resulted in another deal. Now the Blazers have completed a trade with the Orlando Magic for forward Moe Harkless. A report from The Oregonian late Sunday (July 12), states that the Blazers only had to give up a future second-round pick to complete the deal. Since the Blazers are still under the salary cap for the 2015-16 NBA season, the team did not have to send a player back to the Magic.
Moe Harkless was a first-round pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. A product of St. John’s University, he was involved in a four-team trade later that summer that landed him with the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard with the Los Angeles Lakers. Harkless has played his first three NBA seasons in Orlando, showing spurts of what he can do at the small forward position. His minutes were limited last season due to injury, but in the two priors seasons he had started 100 games for the Magic.
Harkless is a 6-8 small forward that can help spread the floor and is just 22 years old. He enters the final season of his current contract next year, but might have a long NBA career in front of him. The Blazers absorb his $2.9 million salary and hope that he can put in a lot of minutes with the second unit. This is the type of player that could work well in the system, and the latest player in a long line of Portland Trail Blazers trade rumors this offseason.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Gerald Henderson was acquired in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets for Nicolas Batum. The team also traded for Mason Plumlee, re-signed Damian Lillard, accepted the option for Chris Kaman, and signed free agents Al-Faroug Aminu and Ed Davis this offseason. The team has been very busy trying to fill open roster slots created by four starters leaving.
This deal was a really good one for the front office in Portland, as it nets the team a good young player for nothing in return. Harkless has struggled shooting from the field and the free throw line in the past, but he is an inexpensive asset that adds depth to the second unit. At best he could be a player that scores 10 points and grabs five rebounds a night off the bench, and at worst he simply becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
These Portland Trail Blazers trade rumors confirm that the team is still trying to put a winning team on the court, despite the depressing offseason that has taken place. Moe Harkless might just surprise some people, especially as he works toward getting a better contract during the next NBA offseason.
[Image Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]
