Harkless began the 2019-20 season with the Los Angeles Clippers. He made 50 appearances with the team and averaged 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals across 22.8 minutes per game. He shot 51.6 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from three and 57.1 percent from the free-throw line. Arguably Harkless' best overall performance of the campaign occurred Jan. 2 during a home win over the Pistons. That night, across 25 minutes, he recorded 12 points (6-7 FG, 0-2 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal. On Feb. 6, Harkless was part of a complicated three-team trade that sent Harkless (and draft picks) to the New York Knicks and landed the Clippers Marcus Morris and Isaiah Thomas. He made 12 appearances with the Knicks and received a slight boost in playing time. With New York, Harkless averaged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23.8 minutes per contest. On Feb. 27, Harkless drained a season-high five three pointers and scored a season-best 17 points during a loss at Philadelphia. On Mar. 11, Harkless set a new single-game career high with six assists during a road win at Atlanta. His other single-game season highs stood at 14 rebounds, five threes, four steals and three blocks.

In his fourth season in Portland, Harkless appeared in 60 contests. He established new career-bests in rebounds (4.5) and assists (1.2) per game. After coming off the bench in his first seven appearances, Harkless joined the starting five on Nov. 25. He went on to start the next 69 games in which he appeared, including the postseason. Following an early season knee injury that cost him 12 games, Harkless averaged 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in the month of December. He hit his stride after the All-Star break, posting 13.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game over a four-game stretch to end February. Harkless maintained the momentum as the regular season came to a close, registering eight double-digit scoring efforts over his final 13 games, including a season-high 26 points in an April 9 win over the Lakers. In the postseason, Harkless averaged 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in a five-game, first-round victory over the Thunder. He was less effective in Round 2 against Denver, but he started all seven games and contributed 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 20.4 minutes. In the Western Conference Finals, Harkless registered a pair of double-digit scoring efforts in Games 1 and 2 as Portland fell to Golden State in four games.

Harkless took a step back in his second season with Portland as injuries limited him to 59 games. He started 37 of those contests, averaging 21.4 minutes per contest. Overall, Harkless posted per-game averages of 6.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He shot a healthy 49.5 percent from the field and a career-best 71.2 percent from the free-throw line. He also converted 41.5 of his attempts from beyond the arc -- the best mark of his career. On Dec. 23, he set a season high with 22 points in a win over the Lakers. He tied his career high with six steals against Utah on Feb. 23, adding six points and three rebounds. In a win over the Thunder on March 25, he scored 16 points and swatted four shots, tying his career high. However, that contest was the last time Harkless played during the regular season as he underwent knee surgery in late March and missed Portland's final nine games. He returned for Game 2 of the team's opening-round playoff series against New Orleans, playing 27 minutes and contributing 11 points along with five rebounds. Harkless was able to play in Game 3 as well, totaling five points, three rebounds and four assists, but he sat out the final contest of the Pelicans' four-game sweep.

Maurice Harkless carried over a strong showing in the 2015-16 playoffs to a starting role for the majority of the 2016-17 campaign. He played 77 games for Portland, setting career highs with 69 starts and 28.9 minutes per contest. Harkless blossomed in his new role, posting career best per-game marks in points (10.0), rebounds (4.4) and assists (1.1). He shot 50.3 percent from the field -- marking the first season in which he made at least half of his field-goal attempts -- and 35.1 percent from three-point range. The 6-foot-9 forward notched two double-doubles during the campaign. One of those games was a 19-point, 11-rebound performance in a win against the Pelicans on Nov. 25. Five days later, he tied a season high with 23 points against Indiana while making 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. On Dec. 13, he totaled five steals -- his most of the season -- while scoring 15 points in a win over Oklahoma City. Harkless remained a starter in Portland's first-round playoff series against Golden State. In four contests, he posted per-game averages of 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds.

Prior to the start of his fourth season, Harkless was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. The forward spent most of the campaign in a reserve role before moving into the starting lineup for good in late March. The move to Portland revived Harkless' career as he set career highs with per-36 minutes averages of 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists. His 47.4 field-goal percentage and 62.2 free-throw percentage were also career bests. All told, Harkless played 78 games and averaged 6.4 points along with 3.6 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per contest. He blossomed as a starter, averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 14 games. On April 5, he tallied season highs with 20 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Sacramento. That performance was one of a career-best four double-doubles Harkless registered on the season. In the postseason, Harkless started all 11 of Portland's contests as he got his first taste of NBA playoff action. Though the Trail Blazers were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals, Harkless played well, posting per-game averages of 11.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 three-pointers.

Harkless played in only 45 games during his third season with the Magic. He averaged a career-low 15.0 minutes per contest. Though mostly healthy, his place in the rotation was impacted by the strong play of other young players on Orlando's roster. Harkless averaged 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists during the campaign. He shot 39.9 percent from the field and 53.7 percent from the charity stripe. Though his playing time was reduced, his per-36 minute rate of 1.7 steals was consistent with the marks he posted his previous two seasons. Harkless received a spot start on March 18 against Dallas and played well, totaling a season-high 18 points along with six rebounds and four steals. That performance came on the heels of another strong game 10 days earlier in which he scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a win over Boston. Harkless had one other game in which he scored double-digit points during the campaign. In a win over Minnesota on Nov. 7, he scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench.

In his second season, Harkless played in 80 contests, making 41 starts for the Orlando Magic. Though his playing time dipped slightly to 24.4 minutes per game, he remained a key part of Orlando's rotation. Harkless averaged 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in his sophomore campaign. He increased his field-goal percentage to a 46.4 percent mark while his free-throw rate jumped to 59.4%. The forward's most dramatic improvement was from beyond the arc. He totaled 59 three-pointers in 2013-14, 27 more than in his rookie season. Harkless made 38.3 percent of his attempts from deep, an improvement of over 10 percent. Defensively, Harkless contributed 1.2 steals per contest, matching his mark from the previous season. He tallied a season-high five steals against Houston on March 5, adding 15 points. Harkless twice scored 22 points during the campaign, drilling a pair of three-pointers in each contest. He had one double-double during the regular season -- a 12-point, 10-rebound performance against San Antonio on March 8.

Harkless was selected with the 15th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. His tenure with Philadelphia was short-lived as Harkless was traded to Orlando as part of a 12-player deal in August. The 6-foot-9 forward quickly became a key part of the Magic's lineup, playing 76 games -- 59 as a starter -- and logging 26 minutes per game. Harkless posted per-game averages of 8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in his first season. He scored a season-high 28 points against Houston on April 1, making 10 of 18 field-goal attempts. On Feb. 2, he scored 19 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds to register the first double-double of his career.