Moe

Harkless

The signing of the 10-year veteran and former Rocket would help bolster their front-court depth, but it’s hard to imagine him being a game-changer for the struggling Lakers.

Harkless was traded three times since July and finally waived by a Houston team that’s rebuilding with young players. The 10-year vet will look for another team on the free agent market, but he’s not expected to make a fantasy impact no matter where he lands.

In fantasy terms, this is an insignificant trade. The pick won’t convey until 2025 or 2026, depending on how well the Hawks do in three years. Harkless is headed to his third team in as many days, and it’s his fourth team since he was traded by the Kings on July 1st. However, this isn’t a situation where he’ll see any playing time.

This may be the furthest thing from a blockbuster deal, but it helps get OKC $10 million under the luxury tax while acquiring two trade exceptions, and Houston got a second-round pick for only taking on $1 million in cap space. This move was simply about moving money around for these teams. Nwaba was solid for Houston two years ago, but his role dwindled last season. Now, he’ll get a fresh start in OKC, but it probably won’t result in a huge role. Leave him off your draft board, though he could make an impact later in the season if OKC benches all of their starters again.

Harkless is on the move again, with the Hawks acquiring him from the Kings on July 1. His exit from Atlanta means that Jalen Johnson, who saw most of his minutes in the G League last season, has a shot at cracking the rotation. That won’t be enough to make the 2021 first-round pick a player worth targeting in drafts, but fantasy managers should keep an eye on him during the early stages of this season. As for Harkless’ fantasy potential in Oklahoma City, it isn’t very good. While the Thunder are expected to struggle again, the franchise’s priority has been getting its younger players all the minutes they can handle. In addition to the Thunder acquiring the 2029 second, the 2025 pick that Oklahoma City owes Atlanta is now top-40 protected.

Krejci started each of the Thunder’s final eight games of last season and averaged 10.1 points, 4.9 boards, 3.6 assists, 1.3 triples and 1.1 steals. The 22-year-old Czech guard will provide quality backcourt depth for the Hawks, but we wouldn’t expect him to be a fantasy factor now that he’s on a team that’s not actively tanking.

Harkless is an expiring contract that will help even out the money in this trade. He’ll be a depth piece for the Hawks, but he won’t see the floor enough to make an impact. The Hawks were looking for cap flexibility and a draft pick and got just that.

After playing his first four seasons with the Hawks, Huerter will get a fresh start with the Kings. He’ll have a chance to slide in as their starting shooting guard, though he’ll compete with Malik Monk for that spot. As for what the Hawks got, Justin Holiday will join his brother Aaron Holiday in Atlanta, as he signed with the team earlier today. Harkless was a depth piece for the Kings last season and will likely have a similar role in Atlanta. The future first is likely the main piece the Hawks were after, but the added defense will help.

Harkless missed his last six games and finally returned tonight, but with this mega-dud and his poor play before the injury, he’s simply not a fantasy factor. Jeremy Lamb (left hip) returned from a four-game absence and did a bit better with eight points, two rebounds, one assist, one block and one triple in just 13 minutes, and while we wouldn’t call him a must-have guy, we have our eye on him, much Harkless.

Harkless hasn’t been a consistent member of the rotation since after the trade deadline, so his availability won’t have much of an impact as far as fantasy is concerned.