Knicks reportedly won’t buy out Moe Harkless before deadline

Another Lakers buyout market target has officially bitten the dust, as the Knicks and Moe Harkless have reportedly decided to stick together.

The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled against bigger wings at times this season, and they were reportedly at one point interested in addressing that weakness by adding New York Knicks forward Moe Harkless.

Harkless started the year with the LA Clippers, but was dealt to the Knicks in the trade for Marcus Morris, and seemed like a possible buyout candidate given that he’s a veteran on a team going nowhere this season.

Even after Harkless said last week that he wasn’t planning on seeking a buyout from his hometown team, some hope that he might change that stance was rekindled when he talked to reporters on Thursday about how hard it’s been to adjust to a losing situation.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, that hope is dead. Harkless will remain a Knick for the rest of the year:

Had Harkless become available, he would have given the Lakers the bigger wing defender they could use, but they’re evidently not done surveying the market just yet. The front office reportedly has a meeting set up with former LeBron James teammate, former Rob Pelinka client and current Klutch Sports client Dion Waiters for this week, a meeting they rather transparently set up for after this deadline just in case other players — such as Harkless — unexpectedly became available to them as options if they and their teams reached a buyout agreement.

Barring a surprise, it now looks like the market is what it is. Maybe they’ll give J.R. Smith a call, too?

Stay tuned for more updates, and keep track of every buyout free agent the Lakers are linked to on this page.

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