Trail Blazers' Maurice Harkless: Candidate to start at small forward

Harkless and Evan Turner appear to be the leading contenders for the Trail Blazers' vacant starting role at small forward, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports.

Analysis:

With coach Terry Stotts indicating that Al-Farouq Aminu will move over to power forward this season after acting as the starting small forward for much of the 2015-16 campaign, the Trail Blazers have only one lineup spot up for grabs during training camp. While the newly re-signed Allen Crabbe is in the mix for those duties, Harkless and Turner, who were also rewarded with new contracts from the Trail Blazers this offseason, appear to have demonstrated that they're the best two fits with the top unit during the early stages of camp. Stotts will use the next four weeks to determine which of those two options will ultimately win the starting role, but Harkless certainly has a compelling case for expanded playing time even if he's forced to come off the bench to open the year. Harkless started the final 11 games of the past regular season and remained with the top unit in the playoffs, proving himself as an excellent fit alongside Aminu, particularly on the defensive end.