Although reserve big man Montrezl Harrell tore the ACL and medial meniscus in his right knee this summer, the Sixers intend to keep him on their roster, at least for the time being, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Though Pompey notes that Harrell, who inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract to return to the Sixers, most likely will not recuperate in time to play for the team in 2023/24, he believes retaining the former Sixth Man of the Year is the right play. Pompey suggests the Sixers could look to package his salary in a trade later.
Given that Harrell was the third or possibly fourth center on the club’s depth chart, he wasn’t likely to have played major minutes anyway. The 6’7″ vet averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 2022/23, his lowest numbers since his 2015/16 rookie season.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Nets still have three roster spots – including one two-way slot – open ahead of training camp this fall, Net Income of Nets Daily writes. Net Income notes that the team still has its bi-annual exception and full mid-level exception at its disposal, and its $157MM in cumulative player salary puts it $9MM beneath the NBA’s $165MM luxury tax threshold. The free agent market at this point is a bit threadbare, so one wonders if Brooklyn would opt to use more than a veteran’s minimum on any of the still-available personnel.
- Knicks swingman Josh Hart becomes extension-eligible on August 9, but as Fred Katz of The Athletic notes, that isn’t stopping him from partaking in Team USA during this month’s FIBA World Cup. Katz writes that the typical move these days for players with big money potentially on the line is to preserve their bodies and avoid possible offseason injuries until a deal is done, but Hart is happy to buck that trend. An extension of his current deal could net him, at most, a four-year contract worth up to $81.3MM.
- Although he inked a new five-year, maximum-salary contract extension this offseason, All-Star Celtics wing Jaylen Brown still has one glaring issue in his game: protecting the ball. As Jared Weiss of The Athletic notes, Brown coughed up the ball 66 times during the 2023 playoffs, including eight incredibly costly turnovers in a Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals defeat against the Heat. Weiss takes a look at how Brown might be able to limit this particular problem going forward.
I don’t understand keeping Montrez
Yeah. Id cut him open a roster spot. Hes not playing any time soon. Spot can be put to better use.
Taxes man, taxes. It’s better to keep him and trade his salary, include it in the Harden trade or a Tobias trade or a Furkan trade.
They cut him and then sign another stiff for the vet min and it adds to their tax bill. Currently is 19M per Spotrac. Another reason the Paul Reed and Montrezl deals made zero sense.
If they stay with Harden, watch them trade Harrell and Furkan and pick(s) for a rookie min deal like Samanic, Juzang, etc… and dip under the tax.
Yeah. Wouldnt make sense for them to waive Harell just now. Roster spots are not really an issue until opening night.
Unfortunately there seems to be a trade restriction on Harrell until December 14. If he had picked up the option that wouldnt have been the case.
Whether they waive him or not, salary until then is the same. But trading him on December 15 will reduce luxury tax.
So better wait until Harden situation is clear and just before opening night they can still waive him if needed. Or keep him on the roster until december 15 and then trade him (and Kurkmaz?).
JB is a very good player, but clearly he ain’t a top-30 player in the league, so of course he will have some glaring issues with his game, right?
Most have him Top-30, several have him Top-20.
Brown is a very good player, but I would have him in the 20-25 range. The fact that he’s the highest paid player in the league is crazy. Unless the cap explodes in the next 3-4 years, the league’s going to become a mess, especially because of the new tax apron rules. 10% of the league’s players will be making $50M+ a year, and the other 90% will be playing on rookie deals or minimum deals.
Thank you Golden State.
What 30 players… Or even 20 that you would put in front of him? Have you ever actually thought about it? I’d love to see your list.