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Maurice Harkless yet to find footing with Trail Blazers

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Apr 5, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Maurice Harkless (21) reacts after hitting a three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Maurice Harkless (21) reacts after hitting a three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports /
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Maurice Harkless returns to the Amway Center for the first time as a visitor Friday with fond memories of his time in Orlando and an established role.

The Orlando Magic will see a familiar face across the way in tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The whole situation will be familiar to that player . . . except the locker room he will be coming out of.

Maurice Harkless had a rough final year in Orlando. Once thought of as part of the team’s future, Harkless fell out of the rotation and saw his playing time completely diminish.

Orlando traded him to Portland somewhat surprisingly in July, although it was not that surprising. Maybe the haul was — a protected second round pick that likely will never get conveyed. The Magic had too many forwards and it seemed as though Harkless would be the odd man out.

Still as Harkless returns to Amway Center as a visitor for the first time, Harkless fondly remembers the people from his first three years in the league and is happy to be back, as he told Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.

"It really is the people. All my teammates over the past three years. Just the people in the organization. People that do stuff behind the scenes. People you don’t see. The people helping you out with tickets. The chef in the back. Those are my favorite people, the people I interact with every day. Janitors. Those are some of the people I miss."

The trade hit him and his former teammates hard. Harkless had grown close with Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton especially, and he was well liked within the Magic locker room.

Although the Magic had made trades and lost players throughout the past three years, trading Harkless was the first time the team had moved one of the young players they drafted to be part of their rebuilding core.

Magic players Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton looked forward to having Harkless back in town. The trade hit them hard especially, as Payton told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:

"“When it happened, it was tough,” Payton said. “When you spend so much time with somebody over the course of a year . . . to have him be traded, it’s tough. But we realize it’s a business. You’ve got to move on.”"

It was a shock to the system for sure. It is the unfortunate part of the NBA business.

The move though has largely been good for Harkless. He was struggling to get minutes by the time he left the Magic and now finds himself with a somewhat consistent role — 17.7 minutes per game, and he has appeared in all 27 of Portland’s games. He is averaging 4.9 points per game and shooting a 49.6 percent effective field goal percentage. The offensive and shooting inconsistencies remain.

But Harkless is still young. He is still full of the defensive and athletic potential to make it in the NBA. He clearly belongs in the league.

Next: Devyn Marble still seeking his turn from the end of the bench

His return to Orlando will be a good one for his family, who still lives in Orlando, and friends and former teammates as they go up against each other Friday.