Maurice Harkless spent most of his first two years in the NBA as a starter. His third season was a disaster that saw him relegated to the bench.
In two years, Maurice Harkless was a young, raw player with lots of talent and potential. He was a starter. A seemingly surefire part of the Magic’s rotation.
Optimism was high on Harkless.
He spent hours in the gym during the offseason working on being better off the dribble and expanding his game. He finished his sophomore season shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc. There was real belief Harkless would take the next step from potential rotation player to solid NBA player.
Then the bottom fell out.
How or why nobody may know. It might have been as silly as the coaching staff not liking him — there was a report they did not feel he was trying hard, something that is extremely subjective and, frankly, probably not completely true. It might have been Harkless did not make the improvements he needed to make. It might have been that the initial benching cost him confidence.
It never really came out what happened with Harkless. It certainly would be fair to blame the Magic for his lack of development. But it would also be fair to heap some blame on the 21-year-old forward. He still had a lot to learn.
The hope is a new coach will restore some confidence, along with the carrot of free agency next summer.
No matter what story you want to tell about Harkless and his season, it was a bad one. His numbers were down across the board. He looked like a completely different — and worse — player. The never-ending optimism that surrounds the individual development of players on this Magic team did not apply to Harkless.
How do we make sense of what happened to Maurice Harkless?
Next: The Good and the Bad
The Good and the Bad
It is hard to point to too much good with Harkless. All his numbers were down and he looked like a completely different player.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/11/2015.
Harkless just feel off a cliff shooting-wise, already a weakness of his. Sure, the opportunities were few and far between. He was more or less a full-time starter his first two seasons in his career, but to shoot a 43.0 percent effective field goal percentage and 17.9 percent from beyond the arc was just a major step back.
There is no way around it. Harkless just failed to take any kind of positive step forward.
The biggest area he needed to improve was attacking off the dribble. That turned into a disaster, he would often lose the ball off the dribble and turn it over. In fairness to him, he scored 0.8 points per game on drives, driving just 1.3 times per game.
His spot-up shooting took a big hit, as he was once again relegated to standing in the corner as his primary offensive role. Harkless shot 19.0 percent on catch-and-shoot field goals this season.
Any way you cut it, Harkless was a disaster.
His rangy defensive potential was a major let down. He just did not provide very much positive.
And that is disappointing. Because Harkless had shown so much potential.
Next: Best Game of 2015
Best Game of 2015
March 18 @ Dallas
18 pts., 8/15 FGs, 6 rebs., 4 steals
Maurice Harkless had just three games where he scored more than 10 points this season. This was by far his most productive and encouraging ouput of the season.
This game showed all the potential from Harkless that everyone had seen for the past two seasons and just needed for him to tap into consistently.
Harkless was not relegated to standing in the corner — although he did make two of his five 3-pointers on the night. He cut and slashed off the ball, got out in transition and scored. His defense was good too with four steals.
This was everything Harkless was meant to be. Why was this the only game he was able to do that?
One is opportunity.
With Tobias Harris, Willie Green and Dewayne Dedmon out, Harkless was put into the starting lineup. He played 36 minutes, his most this season and just one of two times he played more than 30 minutes this season. Opportunity is the key to success and Harkless had few of them. It was good to see him take advantage of the opportunity.
Two is desperation.
The Magic trailed by 20 points in this game and played with a lot of desperation and freedom. Elfrid Payton recorded his triple double and Harkless was given more opportunity to play in what seemed like meaningless minutes. Harkless was still a -7 on the night.
A lot of his shots came around the rim which is exactly where you want Harkless trying to score. He had a few of his corner 3-pointers from the right corner. That is good to see too. But this was Harkless at his best.
Unfortunately, this was about the only time we saw it.
Next: 2016 Outlook
2016 Outlook
A new coach is going to bring some changes for Maurice Harkless. This is still a very talented player who, by all accounts, wants to work hard and be a great NBA player. He has the physical tools to be good and has shown he can be a major contributor.
A new coach might see that in a way Jacque Vaughn did not or even connect to Harkless in a way that the previous regime could not. It was extremely clear that one way or another, Harkless needed to change his situation.
That does not mean he is not going to have to work for it.
Harkless will have a clean slate and will have to prove himself all over again to the new coaching staff. He is going to have to prove through his skill and hard work that he has a place int he Magic’s new offense and new defensive schemes. It is an incredible opportunity for a player like him.
That means first and foremost, Harkless has to restore confidence in himself. He has to get that 3-point shooting percentage up, drive and cut with confidence and aggression and, most importantly, he has to own the defensive end.
Defense was always where Harkless should have made his money. With how raw he was, his pure athleticism on the defensive end was likely his biggest asset for him to showcase and develop. He never really did that in his first three years. His offense seemed to dictate things — or his being almost completely ignored offensively.
Harkless still has all that potential within him, it is just about unlocking it again.
Maybe 2016 will be the time — a contract can certainly be motivation.
Next: Final Grade
Final Grade
He did not earn playing time, he fumbled his way through the playing time he got and he deserved the role he ended up with. There is no other way to say this.
I am a Maurice Harkless fan. I see a lot of potential still in this 21-year-old player (he will turn 22 later this month). I think he can still succeed in the NBA. But time is running out. And he has yet to find consistency or cash in on his athletic gifts.
This season should have been a big opportunity. Competition with Aaron Gordon and experience should have boosted his play up. Instead, he never found any comfort.
A new coaching staff might help. It was pretty clear in the fact Willie Green was getting minutes ahead of Harkless the entire season that Harkless had fallen well out of favor with the coaching staff for whatever reason. That needs to be put behind him.
For Harkless, the 2015 season was a forgettable one. But it was also instructive. His place in the NBA is not on firm footing. He has to work hard to disprove the perceptions about him and bring back the player that seemed to have a lot of potential and became a starter for this Magic team for most of two seasons.
That player is still in there and that player can improve. That player did not show up in 2015.
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F
There is no getting around it, Maurice Harkless’ season was a complete disaster for him. Nothing he could have hoped to accomplish individually went right.
He did not earn playing time, he fumbled his way through the playing time he got and he deserved the role he ended up with. There is no other way to say this.
I am a Maurice Harkless fan. I see a lot of potential still in this 21-year-old player (he will turn 22 later this month). I think he can still succeed in the NBA. But time is running out. And he has yet to find consistency or cash in on his athletic gifts.
This season should have been a big opportunity. Competition with Aaron Gordon and experience should have boosted his play up. Instead, he never found any comfort.
A new coaching staff might help. It was pretty clear in the fact Willie Green was getting minutes ahead of Harkless the entire season that Harkless had fallen well out of favor with the coaching staff for whatever reason. That needs to be put behind him.
For Harkless, the 2015 season was a forgettable one. But it was also instructive. His place in the NBA is not on firm footing. He has to work hard to disprove the perceptions about him and bring back the player that seemed to have a lot of potential and became a starter for this Magic team for most of two seasons.
That player is still in there and that player can improve. That player did not show up in 2015.