Orlando Magic would still be wise to retain Maurice Harkless

How do you unleash Moe Harkless?

Try playing Harkless more at the 1-spot on defense on a regular basis. Isolate him on the wing and clear it out for him to put his head down and take it to the basket. Run him off a screen for a long-range two-pointer. Do things that feature his best attributes — and see if he can do them.

If he cannot, then he may be looking at a quick ticket out of the NBA.

He has had adequate chances, and there is no guarantee another team will give him more than what he received in Orlando.

How often has Harkless just blended into the background, content to sometimes wander into a player or launch a corner three?

The absolute best facet of his game is an ability to make plays defensively. And he had his best game against Dallas on March 18 when he played 36 minutes in that start, amassing 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while coming up with six boards and four steals.

The Magic lost by five, but Harkless shined and received abundant accolades.

But Harkless’ only other great performance came on March 8 against Boston when he shot 6-of-11 for 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.

Can he play like that more consistently? Maybe.

What differed on those nights was that he saw the full extent of starter’s minutes, unlike his other two starts which produced mediocre results (Games 38 and 39).

Next: When you give Moe a chance