Trail Blazers' Maurice Harkless: Confirmed as starting small forward

Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts confirmed Saturday that Harkless would open the season as the team's starting small forward, Jason Quick of CSN Northwest reports.

Analysis:

Stotts said Harkless would be joined in the Opening Night lineup by Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee, but the small forward gig was the only job that was truly up for grabs. Harkless finished last season on a strong note while working as a member of the starting five and proved to be a better fit with the top unit during the preseason than newcomer Evan Turner and holdover Allen Crabbe, but all three players could see fairly similar minutes throughout the campaign.