Montrezl Harrell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Harden, Giannis, George Named MVP Finalists

May 17th, 2019 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Defending champion James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George are the finalists for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, the league announced in a press release.

The voting is expected to be close between Harden, who averaged 36.1 PPG and 7.5 APG during the regular season, and Antetokounmpo, who carried the Bucks to the best record in the league while averaging 27.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG and 5.9 APG. George averaged 28.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 4.1 APG.

The league also released the finalists for its other awards. The winners will be revealed during a TNT broadcast on Monday, June 24. Here are the rest of the finalists:

Rookie of the Year:

Deandre Ayton (Suns)
Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
Trae Young (Hawks)

Sixth Man of the Year:

Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
Domantas Sabonis (Pacers)
Lou Williams (Clippers)

Defensive Player of the Year:

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Paul George (Thunder)
Rudy Gobert (Jazz)

Most Improved Player:

De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
D’Angelo Russell (Nets)
Pascal Siakam (Raptors)

Coach of the Year:

Mike Budenholzer (Bucks)
Michael Malone (Nuggets)
Doc Rivers (Clippers)

Contract Details: Bolden, Carter, Harrell, Smart

July 29th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers forward Jonah Bolden has received the largest contract of any rookie second-round pick this summer, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The 36th player taken in the 2017 draft, Bolden spent a season with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel before coming to the NBA. Philadelphia gave him a four-year, $7MM deal with a starting salary of $1.69MM, although the third and fourth seasons are non-guaranteed.

The Nets signed Rodions Kurucs to a similar arrangement, Pincus adds (Twitter link). The 40th pick in this year’s draft, Kurucs will make $1.62MM in his first year and has incentives that could bring the value of his four-year contract up to $6.96MM. The first three seasons are fully guaranteed.

Pincus passes on a few more details about deals signed this summer:

Although Jevon Carter was taken 32nd overall, he signed for just the minimum salary over two seasons, less than others in his draft range (Twitter link). However, he received a full guarantee from the Grizzlies on both years. Jalen Brunson, taken at No. 33 by the Mavericks, makes more per season but is locked into a four-year deal (Twitter link). He will receive $1.23MM in his rookie year, with minimum salaries for the next three seasons. The first three years are fully guaranteed. Elie Okobo, the 31st pick, signed a four-year agreement with the Suns that will pay him $1.24MM in his first year, with three seasons at the minimum to follow. Only his first two years are guaranteed, and Phoenix has a team option on the final season (Twitter link).
Among the two-way contracts handed out this summer, only four players signed multi-year deals. Kostas Antetokounmpo of the Mavericks, Billy Preston of the Cavaliers, Yuta Watanabe of the Grizzlies and Thomas Welsh of the Nuggets all have two-year agreements (Twitter link).
The Clippers will pay Montrezl Harrell $6MM in each season of his two-year, $12MM deal (Twitter link).
Celtics guard Marcus Smart has a base salary of $11.16MM in the first year of his new deal, but $500K of likely incentives place the cap hit at $11.66MM. The incentives remain in effect for each season of his four-year contract.

Clippers Re-Sign Montrezl Harrell

July 24th, 2018 at 9:04pm CST by clarkcrum

July 24: The team has officially re-signed Harrell, according to a team press release.

“Montrezl is a tough, hard-playing, gritty competitor who is committed to winning,” said President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank. “We love his passion and energy, and are very excited to have Trezz back in a Clippers uniform.”

July 19: Restricted free agent center Montrezl Harrell has agreed to a two-year, $12MM deal to return to the Clippers, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Harrell’s contract will be fully guaranteed.

Harrell, 24, was one of the last remaining restricted free agents on the market with a reasonable potential to sign a significant deal. Only Clint Capela and Rodney Hood now remain.

An over-the-cap team, the Clippers had already split their entire non-taxpayer mid-level exception on forwards Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Scott, but were able to re-sign Harrell using his Bird rights.

Harrell had a breakout season in 2017/18, playing in 76 games while averaging 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest and shooting a blistering 63.5 percent from the field. His 24.73 PER was good enough for 12th best in the entire NBA among qualified players.

The Clippers lost big man DeAndre Jordan in free agency to the Mavericks, but did acquire center Marcin Gortat from the Wizards in a trade for Austin Rivers. Accordingly, Harrell and Gortat will now seemingly compete for time at the center position for the Clippers in 2018/19, with Boban Marjanovic providing reserve minutes.

Pacific Notes: Stephenson, Ariza, Harrell, Ferrell

July 22nd, 2018 at 10:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Headed to his seventh team in five years, new Laker Lance Stephenson is hoping he can land a long-term contract next summer, relays Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Stephenson expected a longer stay in Indiana after appearing in all 82 games last season. However, after teammate Thaddeus Young opted in to a $13.7MM deal and Doug McDermott was added in free agency, the Pacers elected to decline their $4.3MM option on Stephenson. He wound up signing a one-year, $4.5MM deal with L.A.

“I’m definitely looking for a long-term contract after this,” Stephenson said. “I’m trying to find a home. I’ve been moving a lot and to different teams. I’m trying to find a place where I can actually call home and feel comfortable, and actually get a nice place and stay there for a while.”

There’s more this morning from the Pacific Division:

The Suns contacted free agent forward Trevor Ariza in the first minute of free agency, he says in a video interview tweeted by the team. The former Rocket agreed to change teams after receiving a one-year, $15MM offer from Phoenix. “Sometimes things run their course and it’s time for a new start and new beginning,” Ariza explained. “There were a lot of options for me, but the one that … showed the most promise was this one. I’m excited to be here. I’m happy to be here. It’s closer to home [in Los Angeles] for me.”
The new two-year, $12MM contract for Montrezl Harrell leaves the Clippers about $500K below the tax line, but sets up a difficult roster decision, Bobby Marks posts on ESPN Now. Re-signing Harrell gives L.A. 16 guaranteed contracts, along with non-guaranteed deals for Patrick Beverley ($5,027,028) and C.J. Williams ($1,378,242). Neither becomes fully guaranteed until January 10.
The Kings finalized a three-year, $20.5MM contract with Nemanja Bjelica on Saturday, but not an expected deal with Yogi Ferrell, notes salary cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link). He speculates that Sacramento could be examining its options with $14MM in remaining cap space and may use the room mid-level exception to sign Ferrell to a two-year, $6.2MM deal at a later date.

Free Agent Notes: Clippers, Harrell, Papanikolaou

July 4th, 2018 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

We heard earlier today that the Clippers, who already have veteran centers Marcin Gortat and Boban Marjanovic under contract, are exploring the idea of adding Kyle O’Quinn, having met with him on Tuesday. In addition to their pursuit of O’Quinn, the Clips also maintain interest in re-signing Montrezl Harrell, reports Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Harrell is currently a restricted free agent.

As they weight their options at center, the Clippers will also have to be wary of their roster limits. The team entered the offseason with 12 players under contract, not counting rookies Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson. L.A. also reached deals with Mike Scott and Avery Bradley, increase the team’s tentative roster count to 16. Adding O’Quinn or re-signing Harrell would bump that total to 17, meaning two players would have to be waived or traded at some point.

Milos Teodosic, who has a partially guaranteed contract, and C.J. Williams, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, may be at risk of losing their roster spots with the Clippers, though that’s just my speculation.

Here are a few more free agent notes from around the league:

Dwight Howard is on track to sign with the Wizards when he officially becomes a free agent, but before he reached a deal with Washington, the veteran was said to have interest in the Warriors. In an appearance on Zach Lowe’s ESPN podcast (hat tip to RealGM), Tim Kawkami of The Athletic suggested the idea of adding Howard was internally discussed in Golden State, but he “was a ‘no’ in a lot of precincts of the Warriors.” We previously heard that the Dubs’ interest in Howard was tepid at best.
Former NBA forward Kostas Papanikolaou, who appeared in 69 total games for Houston and Denver between 2014 and 2016, is considering the possibility of an NBA return, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Papanikolaou played for Olympiacos in Greece last season.
One former NBA contributor who won’t be returning from Europe anytime soon is veteran guard Rudy Fernandez. The ex-Blazer signed a new two-year deal with Real Madrid in Spain, and said in a statement that he hopes to spend the rest of his career with the club.
In an informative piece for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks takes a team-by-team look at every club’s free agency situation, examining cap exceptions available, outstanding contract decisions, and much more.

West FA Rumors: A. Johnson, Looney, Exum

July 1st, 2018 at 1:13am CST by Austin Kent

At least three Western Conference teams are said to have already contacted veteran big man Amir Johnson mere hours into free agency. Per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News the Timberwolves have been in touch, while Sean Deveney of The Sporting News adds that the Clippers and Lakers have too.

This time last season, Johnson inked a one-year, $11MM deal to serve as a reliable, veteran presence in the middle for the Sixers and it stands to reason that any of the teams kicking the tires on him this time around would be interested in a similar addition.

Johnson averaged 4.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for Philly in 2017/18 but served as a defensive force in the paint and a low maintenance spot starter in games that Joel Embiid sat out.

There are more free agency rumors from around the Western Conference:

The Warriors have already made contact with Kevon Looney about bringing him back to the Bay Area, Mark Medina of The Mercury News writes, but the forward is said to be fielding interest from other teams as well. Golden State elected not to guarantee the fourth year of his rookie deal when they had the chance to do so last fall.
The Jazz are making restricted free agent Dante Exum a priority, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets, and already have a meeting set up to discuss a new deal.
Pending restricted free agent Montrezl Harrell has changed representation, Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal tweets. Now the Clippers big man will be represented by Bobby Petriella of Rosenhaus Sports. He was previously represented by Klutch Sports Group.

Montrezl Harrell, Tyrone Wallace Receive Qualifying Offers

June 28th, 2018 at 10:15pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers have tendered a qualifying offer to forward Montrezl Harrell, RealGM’s Keith Smith tweets. The third-year big man averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on the season but saw his production climb steadily and significantly over the course of the campaign.

Harrell, a 2015 second-round pick, joined the Clippers in the flurry of deals prior to the Rockets’ acquisition of Los Angeles guard Chris Paul last June. The 24-year-old now stands to be a prominent part of L.A.’s rotation heading forward.

The extension of the $1.8MM qualifying offer will make Harrell a restricted free agent on July 1, giving the Clippers the opportunity to match any offer sheets that come in for his services.

The Clippers also tendered an offer to two-way guard Tyrone Wallace, Smith reports.

Pacific Notes: Harrell, Temple, Green

April 13th, 2018 at 8:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers missed the postseason for the first time in seven seasons after trading Chris Paul to the Rockets in the offseason but there is one silver lining that came out of the inevitable breakup with their former All-Star point guard. As Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register writes, Montrezl Harrell has emerged as a reliable asset for the team heading forward.

“He was terrific,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s been terrific. That was a find for us. He just does more things than we knew. He’s a scoring post guy. We thought he was just an energy guy. It’s nice when you get lucky, and that was good for us.”

While Harrell was brought aboard as a financial fill-in alongside Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley, he’s far exceeded his 2017/18 contract worth $1.5MM. Harrell averaged 23.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per-36 minutes for the Clippers and saw his playing time rise over the course of the season.

Veteran Kings forward Garrett Temple hasn’t decided what to do regarding his $8MM player option for the 2018/19 campaign yet but did enjoy his role as an on-court leader this past season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. In a Free Agent Stock Watch article in January, I argued that the 31-year-old would be wise to accept the option rather than test the market.
It’s not unreasonable to say that Draymond Green faces pressure to perform well for the Warriors heading into the 2018 postseason, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. A failure to win the Western Conference title could prompt leadership to consider a reshuffle. “I think there’s more unknown anywhere when you don’t win – whether you got the 30th highest payroll in the league or the highest,” Green said. “But I don’t think about that. It’s on them.“
It’s a “dream come true” to sign a guaranteed deal with the Warriors through the 2018/19 campaign, Quinn Cook tells Mark Medina of The Mercury News. The 25-year-old had previously bounced around the NBA, signing short-term deals with the Cavs, Pelicans, Mavs and Hawks.

Pacific Notes: Bogdanovic, Harrell, Randle, Giles

April 8th, 2018 at 8:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic admits that playing for a lottery-bound team has worn him out mentally, as he told Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “It’s more mental because we’re out of the playoffs and these games don’t give you the same feedback at the end of the game,” Bogdanovic said. The Serbian is averaging 11.9 PPG and 3.3 APG in 27.9 MPG during his first NBA season.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

Montrezl Harrell has proven to be much better than a typical throw-in to a blockbuster deal, Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register notes. The Clippers power forward is averaging 10.9 PPG on 64.4% shooting after getting tossed into the Chris Paul trade with the Rockets last offseason. “He’s been terrific. That was a find for us,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He just does more things than we knew. He’s a scoring post guy. We thought he was just an energy guy.” Harrell is also a contract bargain, as the team can make him a restricted free agent with a $1.84MM qualifying offer.
Entering the summer as a restricted free agent, Lakers forward Julius Randle has displayed some durability this season, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register points out. Randle is the only Laker on pace to play in every game. “That’s a goal of mine,” Randle said. “I want to be out there competing with them every night, and as long as Coach (Luke Walton) lets me go, I’m going to be fine. I’m going to be out there.”
Kings rookie big man Harry Giles is eager to prove himself in summer-league play, Jones reports in a separate story. Giles has yet to make his NBA debut, as he spent the season recovering and rehabbing from multiple knee injuries. “I can understand having a guy coming off injury, that’s a rookie that hasn’t played, so I understand ‘Why are they hyping him?'” Giles said. “But … I’m ready to go. It’s not about the hype, it’s not about the media, it’s about me getting on the court and playing ball in Vegas. That’s my main goal, I don’t even think about anything else.”

Pacific Notes: Curry, Warriors, Cook, Harrell

March 21st, 2018 at 8:04pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Warriors have hit a rough patch with injuries as their four All-Stars – Stephen Curry (ankle), Klay Thompson (thumb), Kevin Durant (rib), and even Draymond Green (midsection) – have all been sidelined recently. From the trio of Curry, Durant, and Thompson, Curry is closest to returning, ESPN’s Chris Haynes writes.

“I think Steph is closer to playing than KD and Klay,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “…We’re going to be cautious with all of them. … This is not like a timetable of two to three days. It’s just more of a feel thing.”

Golden State owns second place in the Western Conference, four games behind the Rockets. With a postseason spot wrapped up, the Warriors by all indications will focus on getting their core players healthy rather than push for the first seed.

Check out more notes from the Pacific Division below:

Battling injuries, the Warriors have relied on their bench to shoulder the load. Undrafted point guard Quinn Cook, who has bounced around the league the last few seasons, has been a pleasant surprise for Golden State. In his last three games, Cook has finished with 20+ points. Cook hopes to remain with the team long-term and the interest is mutual, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. “I would love to be with this team for the next 10 years of my career,” Cook said.
Cook has also received help from Curry via a text message at halftime during the Warriors‘ matchup against the Suns last Saturday, Melissa Rohlin of The Mercury News relays. Cook struggled in the first half, but a text from the two-time MVP helped him finish with a career-high 28 points.“I don’t care if you go zero-for-25, that 26th shot you better not hesitate,” Curry said in the text, per Cook.
Clippers forward Montrezl Harrel has been a steady presence for the team this season, averaging a career-high 10.4 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 64 games. Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype writes that Harrell has been one of the most efficient scorers in the entire NBA in the 16.2 minutes per game he averages. Harrell is set to hit restricted free agency this summer.