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Maurice Harkless will join the Puerto Rican National Team in the summer of 2014, the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation announced Wednesday. According to the Federation, the 20-year-old Harkless recently met with coach Paco Olmos and general manager Alfredo Morales in Orlando to discuss the opportunity, and he accepted their invitation after conferring with his mother and agent.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to play for the National Team of Puerto Rico," Harkless said in the Federation's statement. "I look forward to playing alongside these men and helping win games on an international level."
In his second NBA season, Harkless is averaging 6.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game on 45.8 percent shooting for the Orlando Magic.
In the Magic's offseason, Harkless will represent Puerto Rico in the Centrobasket tournament as well as the FIBA World Championships. He and Minnesota Timberwolves guard J.J. Barea are the only active NBAers on the Puerto Rican National Team.
In the summer of 2013, Magic big men Andrew Nicholson and Nik Vučević represented Canada and Montenegro, respectively, in international competition.
