NBA: Ranking all 30 starting power forwards for 2017-18

23. Maurice Harkless, Portland Trail Blazers

Yes, Maurice Harkless is technically a 3, and maybe he really will spend the whole season there. But with the way that Al-Farouq Aminu struggled in his small-ball 4 role last season, and given how effective Rip City has been in the limited instances it’s used Harkless in that same spot, this seems like an inevitable adjustment for head coach Terry Stotts to make.

At 24 years old, Harkless is a young player on the rise for the Portland Trail Blazers. The trajectory of that rise isn’t exceptionally high, but he should be an average starter on a playoff team, and at 6’9″, he’s the same height as Aminu, which could spare him as many minutes at the 4 as he logged last year.

In 2016-17, Harkless put up 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from deep. If he can improve on the boards, hold his own on defense and spread the floor to the 3-point arc, this is one lineup tweak that could benefit everyone involved.