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Blazers Have Until Tonight to Rescind Harkless Offer

Moe Harkless is a restricted free agent, and the Blazers have until tonight to unilaterally rescind his Qualifying Offer. Does the team want Harkless long term? Would Harkless take a short deal?

By Brandon Goldner
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers have until tonight to unilaterally rescind the $4.04m Qualifying Offer (QO) for restricted free agent Moe Harkless:

There are a few different ways this could go. For all of them, it's important to remember the Blazers have committed over $100m in salary the next two years, and that's BEFORE signing C.J. McCollum to a likely max deal.

  • Stand pat: the Blazers could do nothing, Harkless would remain a restricted free agent, and the Blazers could match any offer for him made by other teams.
  • Rescind the offer now: the Blazers could let Harkless become unrestricted and save a little bit of money, but they'd be unable to sign him for any amount since they're over the cap.
  • Rescind the offer later: the Blazers could hold off for the time being, then rescind the QO later. Moe would have to agree, and the Blazers would then be unable to sign him for any amount since they're over the cap.
Most likely, the Blazers will stand pat. They'd gain very little with $4m in cap space and an empty roster spot. Pincus agrees:
The possibility remains that Harkless will accept the QO, play out the year, and become an unrestricted free agent next year.

But there are considerations for Harkless, too: is he going to look as good on this roster as he did late last season, considering the addition of Evan Turner, Festus Ezeli, and a healthy Meyers Leonard? Another year older and perhaps without as many minutes to go around, will his value around the NBA drop?

Possibilities abound, but neither side has a reason to rush, and today will likely pass without excitement.

We will update this post as information becomes available.

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