Montrezl Harrell Getting Chance to Emerge into Starter for Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers and former Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell agreed to a new deal over the weekend. Harrell will likely become the team’s starting center.

Montrezl Harrell entered the 2018 NBA Free Agency period as one of the players who could be on the verge of a big pay day, seeing as how he emerged into one of the leagues most consistent bench threats for the Clippers. Unfortunately for Harrell, finding the deal he deserved was trickier than expected, seeing as how NBA teams have handed out inflated, bad contracts for two straight years, meaning there were very few teams with open salary cap space.

In 2017-18, after being traded to the Clippers from the Houston Rockets, Harrell finally got a real shot at being a regular contributor as he headed into his final season on his rookie deal. The former Cardinal showed the NBA what Louisville fans already knew. The reserve forward/center brought power, explosion, rim wrecking abilities, and crazy enthusiasm that struck fear into just about any opponent’s heart.

Though Harrell is considered to “undersized” the Clippers utilized him as the backup to big man DeAndre Jordan, and that move paid off. Harrell finished the season with 11 points per game, along with 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in just 17 minutes a game. Even better, Harrell shot a gaudy 63.5% from the floor, good enough to be third overall in the NBA.

Over the weekend, after a few weeks of waiting, Harrell re upped with the Clippers, signing a 2 year, $12 million deal that will put him back on the market in 2020, when things should be back to normal money wise.

We wrote back in May that because of these numbers, and a need for bigs who can do multiple things off the bench, that Harrell would be ready to cash in. And while he did get a pay increase, Harrell didn’t get the deal many expected he would. CBS Sports writer Chris Barnewall wrote about the Clippers center being one of several players who were in line for a big pay day, only to be brought back down to earth with the reality of NBA Free Agency. He said:

"It’s unfair that someone who broke out last season is probably not going to get paid what he should. Montrezl Harrell was a diamond in the rough for an injured Clippers team last season. He’s an undersized big man who showed a solid touch around the rim with even better rim running skills. The problem is that he’s just not good enough. Very few teams in the NBA need a backup center. Even fewer of them are going to shell out big money for them. In a regular market, Harrell could probably command a decent deal, maybe $10 million per year if someone really liked him. In a restricted market, with a lot of teams trying to cut corners on deals, he’ll probably fall somewhere closer to $5 million or $7 million."

While you can strike up Harrell’s new contract that grossly underpays him at least to today’s NBA market, the good news is the Clippers will have a huge hole to fill in the middle this season without DeAndre Jordan. Enter in Harrell. It’s likely that on the NBA’s opening night, Harrell will trot out with the starters, as the team’s new center. The numbers show that-that will likely be a huge thing for Harrell, who has never averaged more than 18 minutes per game.

Per 36 minutes in 2017-18, Harrell averaged 23.5 points and a little over 8 rebounds a game. indicating that he could see a huge numbers increase this season. After trading away stars Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin, while losing DeAndre Jordan to free agency, means the Clippers are a young team, who will likely spend the season rebuilding. Harrell will get every opportunity to develop into the team’s starting center, proving he deserves a long-term shot at helping what once was a team on the verge of winning a championship, get back to its winning ways.

The Clippers still have quite a bit of talent on the roster including proven wings Danilo Gallinari and Tobias Harris, along with guards Avery Bradley, Lou Williams, and first round pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Next: Ray Spalding Signs 4 Year Deal with Mavericks

Harrell will compete with big men Marcin Gortat, who was trade this offseason from Washington, along with friendly giant Boban Marjanovic.