Maurice Harkless’ Contract Reportedly Includes 3-Point Percentage Bonus

While Maurice Harkless—currently the Trail Blazers’ third leading scorer—is shooting career-highs across the board this season, it is his efficiency from three-point range that may earn him a some extra cash, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, who recently took a look at the players who have bonus incentives written into their contracts.

Of the 33 remaining veterans with bonuses, including 11 players who signed new contracts in July, their incentives can be earned during the season for benchmarks such as team wins, playoff achievements, individual statistics and offseason honors.

He lists Harkless as one of the 11 newly-signed players who can earn a bonus this season, specifically for his three-point percentage.

Performance incentives in the NBA are categorized as either “likely” or “unlikely” depending on whether the player reached the specific benchmark in the previous season. They cannot exceed 15 percent of the player’s base salary and must be based on specific numerical benchmarks rather than player improvement.

Harkless, who shot 27.9 percent from deep last year, is shooting 41.0 percent so far this season. His previous high was 38.3 percent in the 2013–14 season, when he was with the Orlando Magic. It is not clear what percentage Harkless has to hit to reach his bonus, but it seems reasonable that over 40 percent would be more than enough. The Trail Blazers signed Harkless to a four-year, $40 million deal this summer. According to sources at his signing incentives could bring the deal up to $42 million.