The Kings clearly liked what they saw from Moe Harkless last season.
Maurice “Moe” Harkless is returning to the Sacramento Kings on a two-year deal worth $9 million, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Monday. The Kings re-signed Harkless using his non-bird rights, which allowed them to raise his salary by a maximum of 120%.
The Kings acquired Harkless and Chris Silva in a trade with the Miami Heat in March. While the Kings waived Silva, Harkless finished the season with the Kings and played a pretty big role due to the number of injuries the team suffered toward the end of the season.
In 26 games, including 20 starts, Harkless averaged 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 42.1% from the field and 24.7% shooting from behind the arc. He didn’t blow anyone away, but he was good enough to warrant a spot in Luke Walton’s meager front court rotation.
Harkless will likely face more competition at both forward positions this season than he did last season, but his contract suggests that people within the organization think he’ll play a big role off of the bench even when the team is healthy.
This story will be updated.