Trail Blazers: Moe Harkless Can Be NBA’s Next 3-And-D Guy

By Carlos Diaz | Sep 9, 2015

For those of you who are unaware of what a 3-and-D guy is, think of players like DeMarre Carroll, Khris Middleton, and of course former Trail Blazer Wesley Matthews. They are swingmen that can guard both shooting guards and small forwards while being legitimate three-point threats. That is an elite skill set in today’s NBA, and players that possess it are valued at a premium.

In news that should surprise no one, those three players signed huge deals this summer: Middleton and Matthews for $70 million while Carroll signed for $60 million. The Portland Trail Blazers might have lost Matthews but obtained a player (still on his rookie contract) that has the potential to become a 3-and-D guy. It only ended up costing them a future second-round draft pick.

Despite being a young and productive player, Maurice Harkless has gone largely overlooked by most of the NBA, even by his own team. This can be attributed to a myriad of things but chiefly because the Orlando Magic prioritized the development of their top draft picks over Harkless and he fell out of favor with former Magic coach Jacque Vaughn.

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Although that is a cause for concern, Harkless would not be the first player to thrive after leaving an unfavorable situation.

Now with the Trail Blazers, Harkless seems poised to continue his development but will face competition from newly signed small forward Al-Farouq Aminu for the starting role.

Considering Aminu’s experience and the fact that Trail Blazer general manager Neil Olshey originally drafted him, Aminu seems to have the edge but the players’ eerily similar profiles suggests that this isn’t such an open-and-shut case.

Both players are athletic, defensively inclined forwards. They even sported comparable defensive ratings for their respective teams. The Magic had a defensive rating of 101.5 with Harkless on the floor as opposed to a 105.9 rating with him off the floor while the Dallas Mavericks had a defensive rating of 101.4 with Aminu on the floor compared to 105.0 with him off.

For their career, Harkless has averaged 1.1 steals per game while Aminu has only averaged one but both players have averaged .6 blocks per game.

While Aminu may end up getting the starting role because of his experience and history with Olshey, Harkless has a better shot of becoming the prototypical 3-and-D guy because ultimately he is the better offensive player.

In the 2013-14 season–his last season with significant playing time–Harkless shot 38 percent from three-point range while Aminu has only shot better than 30 percent from three once in his career. Besides being a better shooter, Harkless is a smart slasher that can attack off the bounce against a scrambling defense:

To deal with high-level NBA defenses, players have to able to shoot as well as get to the rim off the dribble. Harkless seems have both well in hand. If his shooting bounces back to its 2013-2014 form, and he refines his defense, Harkless has the chance to become a foundational piece in the Trail Blazers’ future, and one of the top wings in the NBA.

He may end up being the biggest acquisition of this offseason.

Next: Davis Will Help Portland's Offense

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