DENVER (AP) — Enes Kanter didn't even think about his sore left shoulder as he soared in for a first-quarter dunk and hung from the rim with his left hand.Then, he grimaced and briefly grabbed the shoulder.On the bench soon after, Kanter pointed to his head as if to say he needed to be more cautious with his injury.Sore shoulder and all, Kanter finished with 26 points in a 121-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. All things considered he held up just fine."I don't have another choice," Kanter said. "I don't even try to think about my shoulder. It's the playoffs. Just got to go out there and play hard and play smart."Kanter suffered the shoulder injury in the Trail Blazers' deciding Game 5 win over Oklahoma City last Tuesday. He was questionable heading into the series opener against Denver, but looked sharp early as he scored 10 of his points in the first quarter. That dunk, though, got everyone's attention, especially the look on... [More]

Harkless has cleared concussion protocol and will play Monday night Mike Richman of the Oregonian reports.

Harkless will be limited to about 20 minutes of action, but the fact that he'll be playing at all is definitely good news. He will continue to try and earn playing time in a difficult to project Portland rotation.

Harkless (concussion) is close to being cleared to return, Mike Richman of The Oregonian reports.

Harkless is in the final stage of the league's concussion protocol and has not officially been ruled out for Monday's matchup with the Jazz. If he passes the final step of the protocol he could be on the floor after sitting out both Friday and Saturday's exhibition contests.

Harkless (concussion) is unlikely to play Saturday night in Sacremento.

Harkless suffered concussion in practice Wednesday and has had to sit out basketball activities the last two days. He's going through the standard protocol and won't be made available to play until he's symptom free. While Portland will play it safe with Harkless now, he'll likely be fine for the start of the season.

Harkless was held out of practice Friday due to concussion-like symptoms, Erik Gundersen of The Columbian reports.

The Blazers have neither confirmed nor denied that Harkless is dealing with a concussion, but with nearly three weeks until the start of the regular season, he figures to be recovered well before opening night.

Harkless scored 14 points (5-6 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 2-6 FT) and added six rebounds in 24 minutes during the Trail Blazers' preseason opener Monday against the Kings.

After seeing his playing time wane in Orlando since his rookie season of 2012-13, Harkless landed with the Trail Blazers in the offseason and is expected to receive every opportunity to readjust the trajectory of his career. A supremely athletic wing player, Harkless should push both Al-Farouq Aminu and Allen Crabbe for minutes at small forward this season, though it's not immediately clear how coach Terry Stotts plans on distributing the minutes. The preseason performance of all three players might ultimately dictate who earns the greater share of playing time.

Harkless (ankle) will be given a lot of opportunity to with the Blazers this season, the Boston Globe reports. "Mo was very high on our board a few years ago in the draft," general manager Neil Olshey said. "We were excited about him. He has a lot of potential. He fits our model right now; he's an emerging young player. He's got a lot of talent. We have a lot of faith in our player development staff and our coaches that guys hit their ceilings, and we know Mo's not even close to his ceiling at this point. He's going to get a great opportunity with us to be the player we loved coming out of the draft."

Harkless is entering his fourth season in the NBA at just 22 years old. After playing 26 minutes per game as a rookie, the lanky wing saw his minutes decrease to 24 mpg in his sophomore season and 15 mpg last season. Harkless has a lot of upside and potential to at least be a good rotation piece, but his value this season will depend on how many minutes he can earn on the wing. The Trail Blazers are projected to start C.J. McCollum and Al-Farouq Aminu on the wing, but if either player struggles at the start of the season, Harkless will be their to poach minutes. The most glaring issue with Harkless is that fact that he fell out of the Magic's rotation last season and was often left squandered on the bench, playing in just 45 games. If a young Magic team couldn't find minutes for Harkless, there should be a healthy dose of skepticism regarding how much he can develop in the NBA. He is currently dealing with an ankle injury suffered in preparation for the FIBA Americas tournament, and he left the Puerto Rican national team to return to Portland to have the ankle examined. It is unclear whether he'll return to play in the tournament that begins August 31st.

Harkless suffered a mild ankle sprain in preparation for the FIBA Americas Championship, PrimeraHora.com reports.

Instead of remaining in Puerto Rico to heal up, Harkless will travel to Portland on Wednesday in order to be evaluated by the team's medical staff. If his new squad clears the forward to return to his national team, he'll be afforded a chance to continue preparation for the upcoming Olympic qualifier, which tips off Monday in Mexico.

Harkless could carve out an expanded offensive role this season, the Oregonian reports. "You look at (Al)-Farouq (Aminu) and Moe (Harkless), they have a chance to become ball handlers, facilitators much in the way that we used Nic Batum," coach Terry Stotts said.

Harkless never initiated the offense while with the Magic, possessing a career 5.2 assist percentage during his career. He appeared disinterested at times and was unable to create his own scoring opportunities because his mediocre ballhandling skills. While he contains athletic traits that should translate into an NBA rotation player, Harkless has seen his playing time dwindle each season in the league. His passive demeanor on the court must change if he's to live up to coach Stotts' proclamation.

Harkless will join the Puerto Rican National Team for the upcoming FIBA Americas Championship, FIBA.com reports.

Harkless was scheduled to play with the Puerto Rican team last summer before withdrawing from the tournament in order to work on his game. Now, the 22-year-old forward will join the preliminary squad in training camp and is likely to earn a spot on the final roster. He's spent the summer working on his offensive game, and September's FIBA competition will be our first taste of his overall improvement.

Harkless was traded to Portland on Sunday for a future second-round pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports.

The Magic took a hammer to Harkless' playing time in the 2014-15 season, going from around 25 minutes per game in his first two years to just 15.0 per game. The move should be good for Harkless in the final year of his rookie contract, likely backing up the also-newly acquired Al-Farouq Aminu and seeing an increase in use from last season.

Harkless has been working on his offense repertoire at IMG Academy, Basketball Insiders reports. "[My trainer and I] are focusing a lot on my shot, and also doing a lot of work around the basket with different ways to score like floaters, layups and finishing through contact," admitted Harkless.

Harkless has also been studying film on the Grizzlies' Jeff Green and the Rockets' Trevor Ariza to help add moves to his arsenal. With coach Scott Skiles, a defensive juggernaut, in charge, Harkless could garner meaningful minutes entering the final year of his rookie contract.

Harkless found himself in the doghouse, competing in 45 games after playing 80 games the season prior. He supplied 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 0.6 assists in 15.0 minutes per game.

Harkless underwent a precipitous decline in statistical production, largely due to lack of playing time and 27 DNP-CDs, sitting an additional 10 games on the inactive list. Even on a per possession basis, Harkless was unable to match his career marks. Largely an afterthought for both Jacque Vaughn and James Borrego, Harkless enters his fourth season younger than all but two players on the current roster. At 21 years old, the Magic can offer him an extension this offseason or wait until next year to extend a qualifying offer. Sadly, he'll likely be buried on the depth chart behind the plethora of young talent engulfing the Magic's roster.

Harkless will not start Wednesday against the Hawks, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Harkless made three starts in place of Tobias Harris (ankle), but with Harris now healthy, Harkless will return to his usual bench role. While Harkless put up 18 points and six rebounds against the Mavs last week, he did it in 36 minutes and is unlikely to approach that minutes total when the Magic are at full strength.

Harkless scored a season-high 18 points (8-15 FG, 2-5 3Pt) to go along with six rebounds, four steals, and one assist in a season-high 36 minutes Wednesday against the Mavericks.

The Magic were down to 10 healthy players, chiefly Tobias Harris (ankle). While it was a nice performance, the Magic only play four times until April, fewest of all teams. Harkless will continue to have ample opportunity to play while Harris rests, but the schedule will restrict his stat accumulation.

Harkless will start Wednesday's contest in Dallas, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

With both Tobias Harris (ankle) and Evan Fournier (hip) on the pine, Harkless will slot into the starting lineup for the second time this season. In his sole nod on Nov. 24 against the Cavaliers, Harkless posted two points (1-7 FG, 0-3 3Pt), four assists, and two rebounds in 27 minutes.

Harkless scored just two points (1-6 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 0-2 FT) with four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes against the Pacers on Tuesday.

Harkless had his best game of the season Sunday against Boston, but was unable to follow up with anything useful for fantasy owners. His playing time is too sporadic to predict, so until he carves out an obvious role, or has a clear path to minutes after a few injuries, it's probably better to stay away from Harkless.

Harkless started the second half over a healthy Channing Frye in Sunday's game against the Celtics. He provided season-highs of 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two three-pointers to go alongside three assists and one block in a season-high 30 minutes.

Harkless was a healthy DNP-CD the previous game on a team with only 10 healthy players. This season, Harkless has recorded more DNP-CDs, 33, than games played, 31. His role moving forward is cloudy, but until Willie Green (Achilles) and Evan Fournier (hip) return, Harkless will have the opportunity to play. His defensive aptitude, when he actually cares, fits the mold of coach James Borrego's philosophy. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to see if Harkless has finally carved out a meaningful role on the shorthanded Magic.

Harkless played 24 minutes in Saturday's game after five consecutive DNP-CDs.

Victor Oladipo (Achilles) and Kyle O'Quinn (personal) didn't play, and Tobias Harris picked up two early fouls, thrusting Harkless into the lineup. It's his first time since November 26th playing at least 20 minutes. Since coach Vaughn is cycling players off the active roster, and Harkless has been one of those casualties, it's better to wait for a repeat performance before speculatively adding him in deep leagues.

Harkless will not be active for Monday's game against the GrizzliesEvan Dunlap of the Orlando Pinstriped Post reports.

Harkless will sit for the fourth straight game as he appears to have completely fallen out of coach Jacque Vaughn's rotation.