The growing discomfort of Maurice Harkless
The player teammates used to call Bambi, promised at media day he had grown into a full deer. He was no longer the wide-eyed 20 year old experiencing life for the first time. He seemed to grasp the big opportunity in front of him.
“It’s like night and day,” Harkless said at Media Day. “I was timid. It was my first time playing at this level. To come in and be hurt and not experience training camp that was tough just to go out there and be thrown in to the fire. I have a lot more experience under my belt. I’m definitely a lot more comfortable and feel a lot better out there.”
Considering how Harkless improved on his 3-point shooting alone — 27.4 percent his rookie year to 38.3 percent last year — it seemed he would continue his upward trajectory.
No one appeared ready to question his work ethic. Harkless said he was in the gym three times a day throughout the summer. He worked hard on tightening his dribble for drives and improving his jumper. He clearly had the athleticism to compete defensively.
Harkless figured his work throughout the offseason would help him get a comfort level for this important year.
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It does not seem anybody can question the work he put in.
“He worked on his game a lot this summer,” Tobias Harris said early in the season. “You can see it in training camp, he looks a lot more comfortable off the dribble. He’s more confident as a player out there. That’s helping us.
“Part of that confidence comes from the offense and how we’re playing this year. He’s not just standing in the corner, he is kind of moved up and coming off pick and roll and that expands that confidence.”
So what went wrong?
Did Harkless not make the necessary improvements offensively? Did he regress to the point where he no longer fit? Did his defense regress because of an over-emphasis on offensive improvement, a mistake a young player might be expected to make?
The answer is probably lost to the back rooms of Amway Center and the decision makers determining whether Harkless plays or not.
Maybe Vaughn’s statements after one of Harkless’ better game this season — his first appearance, a 7-point, 22-minute performance against Toronto — informs what the team is looking for from Harkless, and, maybe, what he has failed to do to this point:
“We talked about being a professional and doing your job and being ready on a nightly basis,” Vaughn said. “We needed everybody and we needed him tonight. I thought he did a good job on the floor.”
At that point of the season, it was more confusing that Harkless had not played to that point. And he has had his moments this season — 11 points, +9 in 20 minutes against Minnesota, for instance — but it has not come together in games or behind the scenes.
Harkless has not played consecutive games since mid-December and he got garbage time against Detroit on Tuesday.
Whatever the case may be this is more than a lost season for Harkless. This is a season that puts his entire NBA future in jeopardy. He has become nothing more than an interesting prospect to throw in to a trade. Not unless he can change that narrative in practice and then, eventually, in games.
Harkless’ season of promise has turned into a nightmare.