Maurice Harkless could be the surprise of LA Clippers’ preseason

With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George likely on the bench, Maurice Harkless will get his chance to shine during the LA Clippers’ preseason.

In all the chaos that ensued this summer, it’s easy to forget about some of the smaller moves the LA Clippers made to bolster the roster. Rodney McGruder‘s re-signing was a bit understated, and that likely has to do with the fact that Clippers fans never really got a chance to see him play in an LA uniform. So while there was plenty of excitement there, no one really knew what to make of his “return” to Los Angeles.

Maurice Harkless is another player that flew under the radar, but not because of how much coverage his transaction received.

Harkless came to LA via the four-team trade that saw Jimmy Butler go to the Miami Heat, Josh Richardson go to the Philadelphia 76ers and Hassan Whiteside go to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Clippers sent cash to Miami, and in exchange were awarded Harkless. And although he was arguably the least well-known player involved in the trade, details of the move were widespread.

Rather, Moe’s acquisition was a quiet one because it was overshadowed by the arrival of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Harkless was reportedly traded to the Clippers on July 1 (which he essentially confirmed on Twitter later that night), and the Butler trade became official on July 6 — the same day that Leonard had reportedly agreed to sign with LA.

Of course, along with Leonard came George, and by that point, Harkless was old news.

He really shouldn’t be though, and we have a feeling that he’s going to prove why that is when he makes his preseason debut Thursday night against the Houston Rockets.

According to The Athletic‘s Jovan Buha, it’s been all but confirmed that Leonard will sit in the Clippers’ preseason opener. And with George out until “November-ish”, that clears the way for Harkless to take over a spot in the starting rotation.

Obviously, Harkless can’t match the level of offensive production that either Leonard or George brings to the table. He averaged a career-high 10.0 points per game during the 2016-2017 season and this past season with Portland, he connected on just 27.5 percent of his looks from three-point range — his lowest mark since 2014-2015.

This comes just one season after he converted a career-best 41.5 percent from beyond the arc in 2017-2018, so if we’re basing this purely off the law of averages, he should shoot close to 35.0 from range with the LA Clippers.

That being said, Harkless is an extremely smart shooter that almost exclusively takes high-value, high-percentage looks. Of the 497 field goals he attempted last season, just 15 came from the midrange. The other 97.0 percent of his attempts came within 10 feet of the rim (he converted over 59.0 percent of his looks here) or from behind the three-point line.

Harkless is most effective at the rim — he converted 66.8 percent of his looks there last season, 84 of which were dunks.

Harkless doesn’t offer much as a playmaker, either. He averaged a career-high 1.2 assists with the Blazers in 2019, so he shouldn’t really be relied upon to set his teammates up to score. On offense, he’s on the floor to score and grab rebounds, and that’s about all that he’ll show up for in the box score.

But enough about what Harkless can and can’t do on offense — where he really shines is on the defensive side of the floor. Both the numbers and the eye test back that up.

Like many of his new teammates, Harkless is a versatile defender, capable of going up against players of almost all types. He has the speed to keep up with point guards, the length to contain wings and the size to keep some of the league’s smaller bigs from scoring and grabbing rebounds. Although he’s primarily used as a small forward, Harkless has proven capable of playing the four as well, which would allow LA to swap him into either forward position depending on whether it’s Leonard or George resting that night.

His per 36 stats are especially encouraging, as he’s averaged both a steal and a block per game in all but three seasons of his seven-year career (all of which came within the first four years).

Perhaps one of the best things about Harkless’ game is that he seems to be unafraid of big moments. During Portland’s first-round meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, Harkless took on then-Thunder star Paul George and made him look far more inefficient than usual.

Just take a look at this clip here. Within the first few minutes of the game, Harkless had already made several stops against George, blocked a few shots, and forced some tough looks. If he can do that against one of the game’s best scoring wings — under an immense amount of pressure, no less — then there’s no doubt he can do it against lesser ones as well.

So no, Harkless wasn’t the big fish of the LA Clippers’ offseason. And while he might not be the same defender that Leonard and George are, he should look even better than before when he’s playing with them in addition to others like Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell.

After all, it’s not like Harkless is some scrub. We’re talking about a guy that started in all but seven of the games he appeared in last season for a Portland team that won 53 games in the Western Conference. He’s been here before, and he’s familiar with the expectations of playing for a contending team. That alone makes him a valuable addition.

Assuming Harkless gets the start when the LA Clippers kick off their preseason schedule Thursday night, he’ll be one of the most important players to watch. Depending on how well he fits in with the rest of the unit, Harkless could make the load management decision that much easier to make and contribute to the team reclaiming its ‘Clamp City’ mantra.