Lakers working out veteran Maurice Harkless
The Los Angeles Lakers aren't the NBA's deepest team, but they're especially shallow at the wing positions. That's why, according to Shams Charania, the team worked out small forward and 10-year veteran Maurice Harkless this week.
"Sources tell me the Lakers are considering a potential signing to bolster their frontcourt depth," Charania reported. "And Harkless, who was waived by Houston in training camp, is among the top available players on the open market."
Harkless has been traded three times and released once since the end of last season, going from Sacramento to Atlanta in the Kevin Huerter trade, getting flipped from Atlanta to the Thunder in a tax-avoiding move and then going to Houston in a very low-stakes eight-player deal. Less than two weeks later, Houston waived Harkless.
If the Lakers decide to sign Harkless, it will be the ninth team to hold his rights since 2019, but he never played a regular-season game for the three from this summer. Harkless doesn't exactly provide the three-point shooting "lasers" that LeBron James thinks the Lakers are lacking, as he's a 32% shooter from three-point range for his career.
What Harkless does do is provide a consistent level of play. It's not that high a level — Harkless is a classic three-and-D guy whose threes and defense have both declined recently. But injuries have left the Lakers shallower than usual on the wing, and while they wait for Dennis Schroder and Troy Brown Junior to get healthy, Harkless might be a more appealing option than playing Matt Ryan (played only one NBA game before this season) or the shorter, worse-shooting Austin Reaves at small forward.
Is this a big upgrade? No, but the Lakers will take any upgrades they can get.
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