Third year players enter the big contract questions, learn patience is answer
Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson are in their third years and are staring down their NBA futures. Both have had little chance to answer that call.
This season has been a trying time for the Magic’s two third-year first round picks.
Neither Maurice Harkless nor Andrew Nicholson have played very much. They have effectively been buried on the bench and lost in the rotation. Each might have their own reasons — Nicholson has had an inconsistent offensive game and poor defense while Harkless seems to be receiving some form of tough love and lesson in “motor” and effort.
The frustrating part for both was how they were once part of the rotation in their younger days and have seemingly been passed over. What is even more frustrating is that this season could prove to determine both Harkless and Nicholson’s careers.
The Magic reportedly picked up their team options for the 2016 seasons. That is the last year on their contracts before they become eligible for restricted free agency. From there, both Harkless and Nicholson face incredibly uncertain futures.
Live Feed
Soaring Down South
“It’s very important,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said at Media Day in September. “As I have said all along, it’s an important season for our team to show growth. It is an important season for our players individually to show growth. We believe in our guys. We believe that they are in a place and an environment where they can succeed and we hope that they are going to have successful seasons. We expect them to have those.”
Indeed, the point of the season is very much to continue showing growth. It is also an important season for the Magic to begin allocating resources. They already made an investment on Nikola Vucevic and are expected to consider matching just about any offer headed Tobias Harris‘ way.
Someone is probably not going to get paid. Not everyone can.
Kyle O’Quinn, another third year player, is also a restricted free agent. He played well enough early on in the season to crack the starting lineup. He even has expanded to the 3-point line, showing how much his confidence has grown on the offensive end.
“Have another breakout season,” O’Quinn said of his goals back at the beginning of the season. “Last year was good for me personally. It helped me out with my confidence. It really helped me learn more about the game with those valuable minutes that coach gave me. I don’t want to stop there. I want to keep growing and keep working hard and just really find my way to stick.”
O’Quinn has found his way to stick. He is almost certain to get a lucrative deal in free agency next season.
Harkless and Nicholson have not really had the opportunity.
Nicholson played a season-high 20:38 in Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets. He made an immediate impact hitting a 3-pointer and then made an impact at the end of the game with a big 3-pointer during the Magic’s frenzied last-minute comeback.
Vaughn commented after the game on the way Nicholson kept himself prepared despite playing so little the rest of the season. The game against the Nuggets was just Nicholson’s 16th in the Magic’s 38 games. He is averaging just 8.6 minutes per game and his per 36 numbers obviously suffered for it — 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds per 36.
Nicholson said at the beginning of the season he hoped to have his shooting be more of a complement to his strong post game. He also needed to improve on his defense and rebounding to stick. If Wednesday was any indication, the potential is still there. It remains to be seen whether Nicholson can contribute consistently as he has not since his rookie year.
Right now Nicholson is getting his chance to prove himself. Something Harkless has not had in a while.
For Harkless, the lack of playing time has come as a bit of a shock.
Harkless started almost immediately in the NBA thanks to injuries ahead of him in the depth chart — Hedo Turkoglu and DeQuan Jones got hurt within the Magic’s first three games forcing Harkless into the starting lineup. This season, he has been a healthy scratch since January 2 and has appeared in only 17 games so far.
As much as anyone, Harkless understood the importance of this season. He spoke before the season believing that he would play a crucial role and that his improvement would be a big part of the team’s improvement.
Instead, Vaughn has given him “tough love” and challenged him in a unique way. Vaughn elaborated on what he is challenging Harkless to do to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:
"“I think the first thing I told our guys at the beginning of the year was this is a completely different year, and no one’s guaranteed any minutes no matter what has happened in previous years. “I think his attitude has been great, and hopefully he’s learning that this is a tough business. You’re a professional, and there are a lot of men trying to earn minutes and take minutes in this league.”"
Vaughn said previously he wanted to see more defensive consistency from Harkless. A thought that confused fans, at least, since Harkless was somewhat known for his defense.
The lack of playing time for Harkless has led to some increase in interest or speculation, at least, that he might be traded. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders wrote that “plenty of executives view Harkless as a talented two-way player with a lot of potential.” That means he still has some value. Possibly still even for the Magic.
To Harkless’ credit, he is not letting the struggles get to him. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel spoke to him at practice in Los Angeles on Thursday:
"“It’s just easy to just look at the situation and just be negative about it. It’s hard to try to just stay positive and stay focused and not let it get you down, and that’s something that I’ve been trying to do. It’s something I think I’ve been doing well, just staying positive and just still working hard and not letting this define me."
It makes you wonder what Harkless would do with his next opportunity. It could end up similar to Nicholson’s opportunity received Wednesday (something Nicholson earned, it appears, in practice).
Harkless remains a team player. He is frustrated with the losing too. His eye is on the ultimate team goal. His personal achievements can come through that.
“The main thing is to get some wins,” Harkless said at Media Day. “I want to win games. When we win everybody looks good. Just myself, continue to show improvement and put a lot of the things I worked on this summer, just bring it to life in the games.”
When Harkless gets back on the court and in the rotation, he will have to play well. His contract and his future, certainly with the Magic, could hang in the balance.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Harkless said on Media Day. “I’m going to bring the same attitude every day. I’m just going to work hard in practice. When I play, whether it is 35 minutes or five minutes, I’m going to play hard.”
He will have to make good on that promise from training camp when he gets his next opportunity. So too will Nicholson with this current opportunity. And both will have to stare down their futures in this league very very soon.
Next: What might the Magic fetch for Moe and Andrew? We have some thoughts