Montrezl Harrell

Pacific Notes: Harrell, Kings, Daniels, Temple

March 11th, 2018 at 4:54pm CST by clarkcrum

The Clippers are 11-4 since the beginning of February, have moved into the eight place spot in the Western Conference, and are only 2.0 games back of fourth place New Orleans and a first-round home playoff series. Part of the improved play for the Clippers has been the emergence of pleasant surprise Montrezl Harrell, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

“You just learn more and more about him as you coach him,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “You never know a guy until you coach a guy. When we got him, we looked at him as an energy guy, a guy that can play defense. That’s what he did everywhere he’s been. And then every practice he gets in, he keeps scoring. And scoring. And then we started thinking, ‘Maybe he can score a little bit.’ He’s been better than that. He’s been great.”

Harrell is averaging a career-high 10.3 points and shooting 63.1% from the field for the Clippers while only playing 16.2 minutes per game, and has improved upon those numbers lately, averaging 17.8 PPG in his last five games.

There is more news out of the Pacific Division:

The Kings have officially been eliminated from playoff contention, leading Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee to analyze the team’s plan of attack in free agency this summer. Jones opines that while certain restricted free agents like Aaron Gordon, Rodney Hood, Julius Randle, and Clint Capela may be appealing, their current teams will all but assuredly match any reasonable offers the Kings may put on the table.
Despite the season the Suns are battling through, veteran guard Troy Daniels believes that it’s still important to put in the work and stay professional, writes Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Daniels also hopes to rub off on some of the younger guys on the team, saying, “It’s hard to stay motivated for games sometimes going through a season like this. (But) I think it’s something these young guys will learn. To survive in this league, even if you’re a lottery pick, you always have to be working on your game, tuning it up.”
In another piece for The Sacramento Bee, Jones notes that he doubts a scenario where Garrett Temple leaves the Kings this offseason. Temple, who has an $8MM player option for next season, is unlikely to find more money on the open market, and has become an important locker room voice for a young Sacramento team.

Pacific Notes: Ball, Chriss, Harrell, Randolph

February 15th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by marksuleymanov

When the Lakers drafted Lonzo Ball, they acquired a package deal that included his outspoken father, LaVar. In his rookie season, Lonzo has fielded questions about his father’s critiques of the Lakers, the Big Baller Brand, and his brothers’ basketball careers.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne outlines a tense, if not somewhat hostile, environment since the Ball infiltrated the Lakers organization. Among the issues Shelburne reports: The Lakers didn’t allow the family’s production team to film games for their ‘Ball In The Family’ Facebook show for free, charged Lonzo regular price for tickets, and privately admonished LaVar when poor reviews of BBB’s products were directed to the team.

While the organization has stayed mostly silent in regards to LaVar’s comments, privately, the team views him as a major distraction. One official tells Shelburne that LaVar is viewed as someone that, “reaches out with one hand and slaps us with the other.”

It has been a tumultuous, injury-filled rookie season for Lonzo, but he has shown signs of promise. While it remains to be seen whether he’ll deliver promise on that promise to an extent that makes his father’s presence worth tolerating, Magic Johnson has plenty of confidence in the partnership and no regrets about drafting the young point guard.

“He’s everything we thought he would be and more,” Johnson said. “Things are gonna work out for the Lakers and for Lonzo.”

Check out other Pacific Division news and notes below:

While it appeared that Marquese Chriss turned a major corner less than two months ago, his game has seemingly regressed back to rookie status in his second season with the Suns, Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports writes.
Acquired in last summer’s Chris Paul trade, Montrezl Harrell has played well for the Clippers and has solidified his role as the backup center. It’s not easy to pinpoint one specific thing Harrell does well, but he says he just maximizes his minutes, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I just took the minutes I had and made the best of it when I got in,” Harrell said. “I just kept working on my game, off the court and on the court.”
In spite of his team’s youth movement, Kings veteran Zach Randolph has played more than expected in recent weeks, which has allowed him to get into a groove offensively, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “You get a good rhythm,” Randolph said. “Especially something that I’m not used to, the team developing our young players. So you get into a good rhythm, it’s important, playing and getting that feel.”

2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: Los Angeles Clippers

November 30th, 2017 at 8:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers are in a precarious position, now teetering on the ledge of an existential crisis following Blake Griffin‘s latest significant injury. Suddenly, the team that seemed so valiantly intent on forging ahead without Chris Paul (and then Milos Teodosic and then Patrick Beverley) has been dramatically deflated, dealt a seemingly insurmountable blow that could very well change the franchise’s short-term plans.

Needless to say, the next few months will be of particular interest to various representatives of the team’s pending free agents, several of whom could stand to benefit from increased playing time in Griffin’s absence and/or a significantly expanded role if the team decides to lean into a full-fledged rebuild and trade away veterans.

On paper, the Clippers could end up with substantial cap space, but that’s far from guaranteed considering how many players have options heading into the summer.

Montrezl Harrell, C, 24 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $4MM deal in 2015
One of the biggest potential beneficiaries of the Clippers’ bad luck is Harrell, a 2015 second-round pick who showed glimpses of productivity throughout his first two seasons in the league with Houston. Harrell hasn’t done much to this point in the 2017/18 season but it seems inevitable that he’ll see his playing time and opportunities in general increase over the next two months.

Brice Johnson, PF, 24 (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $3MM deal in 2016
While the absence of Griffin could open up opportunities for Johnson to see more of a role at the big league level, the team would have to fully accept a rebuild in order for the sparsely-used North Carolina product to start seeing consistent action. I’m not sure if the Clips are there yet. Simply put, Johnson hasn’t show much in Los Angeles and the team forfeited the chance to lock him up on the cheap last month when it turned down his rookie option.

Wesley Johnson, SF, 30 (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $18MM deal in 2016
After eight underwhelming seasons in the NBA, it’s hard to imagine Johnson landing big money in a crowded free agent market next summer. However, the 30-year-old – who has career averages of 7.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game – has a player option worth over $6MM that he’ll presumably accept.

DeAndre Jordan, C, 29 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $88MM deal in 2015
Jordan is the closest thing to a marquee name among Los Angeles’ pending free agents. The 29-year-old will be coming off of seven straight seasons as a rain-or-shine starter (10 in total), with off-the-charts rebounding numbers and an All-Star Game under his belt. That being said, Jordan – who holds a $24MM player option for next season – will need to be careful heading into the summer, considering the market for big men has changed since he signed his last contract. On top of that, any long-term deal would put a club at risk of having that contract turn into an albatross during its back half. Finally, it’s not inconceivable to suggest that the Jordan you could temporarily (kinda, maybe, possibly) justify maxing out was simply a product of CP3’s playmaking abilities. Jordan may very well end up turning down his player option, but there won’t likely be strong market pressure for L.A. or anybody else to offer a huge long-term deal.

Willie Reed, C, 28 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
Now with his third team in three NBA season, Reed will need to show that he’s more than just a journeyman spot starter with legal baggage. While Reed has been used less with the Clippers than he was in Miami last season, his opportunities could increase substantially with Griffin sidelined. I suspect, given the big man’s per-36 numbers, he’ll be able to procure more than the minimum and stick with that team for longer than a single season.

Austin Rivers, G, 25 (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $35MM deal in 2016
The Clippers took a gamble on Rivers in 2016, offering the largely unproven combo guard a major contract without much of a track record to show for it. Fast forward two seasons and Rivers remains more or less equally underwhelming. Rivers does little across the board and isn’t a particularly effective shooter. It wouldn’t make much sense for Rivers’ camp to turn down his $13MM player option for next season.

Milos Teodosic, PG, 31 (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $12MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to gauge Teodosic’s NBA value, considering he only played two games before falling to a foot injury. As things stand, the romantic notion that Teodosic would drop in from overseas to fill the playmaking hole left by Paul is on the back burner. If the plan was for Teodosic to prove himself in his rookie season, turn down his player option for 2018/19 and then sign a larger contract, it’ll come down to how he fares during the second half of the season, since nobody has yet seen enough to warrant a big investment. It seems likely that the Serbian 31-year-old will be back in the lineup before the end of December, so there’s plenty of time for him to prove himself at the NBA level.

Lou Williams, SG, 32 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $21MM deal in 2015
Over course of the last half decade, Williams has fully embraced an identity as a wildly prolific scorer off the bench. Over the course of the last two seasons alone he’s thrived in systems that have had no reason but to let him loose on their second unit and the volume shooter has shown no signs of slowing down north of 30. It may be a bit much to expect Williams to yield anything in the realm of former Clipper J.J. Redick‘s offseason haul ($23MM for a one-year deal with Philly) but there should be plenty of suitors willing to give 2015’s Sixth Man of the Year a sizable raise over his current $7MM salary.

Player ages as of July 1, 2018. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Beverley, Len, Thompson

August 29th, 2017 at 7:28pm CST by Austin Kent

After years counterbalancing James Harden‘s offensive presence in Houston, Patrick Beverley will step into a larger role as Chris Paul‘s replacement with the Clippers, James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes.

Not only has the veteran guard embraced the trade to the Clippers, he asked for the change of scenery. Now the 29-year-old will get a chance to showcase what he’s capable of above and beyond his reputation as a tenacious perimeter defender.

While Beverley will have big shoes to fill even on the defensive side of the ball – Paul was the only player that ranked higher than him in defensive real plus minus – he brings leadership qualities that should help the Clippers franchise in the midst of a critical transition.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Still without a contract for the 2017/18 season, restricted Suns free agent Alex Len has opted out of playing with the Ukrainian national team in FIBA EuroBasket this summer, international basketball reporter David Pick tweets.
There have been no shortage of trade rumors involving Warriors guard Klay Thompson. Anthony Slater of The Athletic (subscription required) explains why he believes they’ll only continue.
Healthy after suffering an ankle injury, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia will suit up for his native Georgia in FIBA EuroBasket, Stavros Barbarousis of EuroHoops writes.
A handful of Pacific Division rotation players could make names for themselves as sleepers this season, David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders writes, including Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. and recently acquired Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell.

Clippers Trade Chris Paul To Rockets

June 28th, 2017 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Reversing his decision to head to the free agent market, Chris Paul has opted into the final year of his contract as part of a trade. The Clippers have sent Paul to the Rockets in exchange for a massive trade package, Houston confirmed today in a press release. The Clippers will receive the following pieces in the deal:

Lou Williams
Patrick Beverley
Sam Dekker
Montrezl Harrell
DeAndre Liggins
Darrun Hilliard
Kyle Wiltjer
Rockets’ 2018 first-round pick (top-three protected)
$661K in cash (the amount Paul agreed to reduce his trade bonus to, per Bobby Marks)

“Since winning back-to-back championships, the pursuit of a third title has remained the ultimate goal for our franchise,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “We feel that combining two of the league’s greatest players in James Harden and Chris Paul, operating in Coach [Mike] D’Antoni’s system, gives us a championship caliber team that will compete at the highest level for years to come.”

The move is a bombshell, particularly since Paul had been expected to reach free agency this weekend — a report last week indicated that he had made the decision to opt out of his contract. However, CP3 had yet to formally file the paperwork to exercise that early termination option. Instead, he’ll waive the ETO, which will allow him to play out the final year of his deal and become eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2018, unless he signs an extension with Houston before next July. Paul is currently set to earn $24,268,959 in 2017/18.

According to Wojnarowski, the Clippers and Rockets reached an agreement after Paul informed L.A. that he intended to sign with Houston in free agency. From the Clippers’ perspective, the trade with Houston is a way to recoup some value for the star point guard and avoid losing him for nothing. Meanwhile, the Rockets will no longer have to worry about trying to dump a salary or two in order to create enough room for a maximum salary slot for Paul.

The Rockets, who were reported on Tuesday to be a “serious” threat in the Paul sweepstakes, have now secured their man before the free agent period even gets underway. The club’s star-studded backcourt will create an intriguing dynamic, since Harden is coming off an MVP-caliber season in which he served as Houston’s primary ball-handler. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Paul and Harden were “determined” to play together, so the duo is presumably unconcerned about how the ball-handling duties will be shared going forward.

It will be interesting to see if Rockets president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has anything else up his sleeve for the team in July. According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the club is still on the lookout for a third star to complement Paul and Harden. Houston was reportedly involved in Paul George trade talks, though the club surrendered some valuable assets in today’s move, so it’s not clear whether Morey still has enough pieces to interest the Pacers.

With Paul now headed to Houston, the Spurs – who were rumored to be a contender for Paul – will have to look elsewhere if they intend to sign a marquee free agent point guard. Teams around the NBA hoping to re-sign their own star point guards, such as the Pelicans (Jrue Holiday) and Raptors (Kyle Lowry), may also be breathing a little easier, since the Rockets were viewed as a team capable of shaking up the point guard market.

As for the Clippers, it’s not clear yet if today’s deal will be the first domino to fall in a full-fledged rebuilding process for the club, or merely a retooling of the roster. In Beverley and Williams, the Clips will acquire a pair of effective and affordable veteran guards who figure to step into key roles right away. Dekker is more of a wild card, but the 23-year-old big man flashed some upside in a rotational role for the Rockets last season, as did Harrell.

Paul’s departure also figures to be a factor in Blake Griffin‘s impending free agency. Unlike Paul, Griffin has formally exercised his ETO with the Clippers, so he’s on track to become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday. Given the reported tension between Paul and Griffin over the years, it’s possible that the trade of CP3 makes Griffin more likely to re-sign — Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link) spoke to several league executives who speculated as much.

Because the combined salaries of Beverley, Dekker, and Williams – the package reported initially for the Clippers – weren’t enough for the Rockets to land Paul, Houston spent most of the day acquiring players with non-guaranteed salaries from other teams to include in the deal. Liggins and Hilliard will be flipped to the Clippers, but Tim Quarterman, Shawn Long, and Ryan Kelly, who were all traded to Houston earlier today, won’t be part of this transactions — Houston instead included Harrell and Wiltjer.

I explained the math from the Rockets’ perspective earlier today. By structuring the deal as they did, the Rockets will remain over the cap and will have the mid-level exception ($8.4MM) and bi-annual exception ($3.3MM) available to pursue free agents when the new league year begins.

The Clippers waived retiring forward Paul Pierce in order to adhere to the NBA’s offseason roster limit of 20 players.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links) broke news of the trade. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times were among those who reported key details along the way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Goodwin, Lopez, Harrell

April 3rd, 2017 at 10:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Archie Goodwin, whose second 10-day deal with Brooklyn will expire tonight, is on the verge of signing a two-year deal with the Nets. Coach Kenny Atkinson is excited about the opportunity to bring him back, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays.

“I think Archie has shown some really good things. Even in [his short stints], it’s like, ‘Man, I want to see more,’” Atkinson said. “Archie, he’s been showing good things. Let’s find a way to get him in.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Brook Lopez, who has long been the subject of trade rumors, is shooting more than ever from behind the arc, SB Nation’s Net Income details. Lopez entered the season with just three made 3-pointers in his career, but Atkinson installed an offense that emphasizes the 3-ball and the center now has a chance to break a record for most long distance swishes by a 7-footer. Lopez has 129 made 3-pointers for the Nets this season and with 23 more made buckets, he’ll break Dirk Nowitzki‘s single season record of 151 made shots.
With both Sam Dekker and Ryan Anderson sidelined, the Rockets‘ void at power forward might suggest that Montrezl Harrell will get more of an opportunity to play the four. Coach Mike D’Antoni said that won’t the case, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. “I like guys who space the floor,” D’Antoni added. Harrell played power forward during Sunday’s win over Phoenix, but he missed all three of his 3-point attempts.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer explains how the next five games will determine the Sixers‘ chances of getting a top-3 pick. Philadelphia currently owns the fifth spot in our Reverse Standings.

Southwest Notes: Finney-Smith, Harrell, Forbes

January 2nd, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Austin Kent

Undrafted Mavericks rookie Dorian Finney-Smith has started 25 games so far this season despite barely making Dallas’ roster out of training camp. With the former Florida Gator’s partially-guaranteed contract set to guarantee on January 5, the fact that he’s managed to hold onto his spot in the starting lineup even with Dirk Nowitzki healthy bodes well.

In 22.8 minutes per game this season, the 23-year-old Finney-Smith has emerged as a capable perimeter defender for the Mavericks – even if that means being thrown into the deep end against NBA superstars like Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

“It’s great experience for young guys,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said of his rookie’s recent baptism by fire. “They learn a lot in a very short period of time. And some of it is very painful. But this is how you get better.”

As Eddie Sefko of Dallas News writes in the same article, the 15th and final addition to the Mavericks roster last fall has already beaten the odds.

That’s not all out of the Southwest Division:

Veteran Gary Neal, who signed a contract to play in the D-League last month, has been traded to the Texas Legends says Chris Reichert of The Step Back. The Legends are the affiliate of the Mavericks.
Rockets big man Montrezl Harrell has filled in admirably for the injured Clint Capela and head coach Mike D’Antoni is pleased with what he’s seen so far. A video published by ESPN’s Alykhan Bijani over Twitter shows the Houston coach shutting down any concerns that he’s worried about the center’s relatively low rebounding numbers (7.8 rebounds per 36 minutes versus Capela’s 12.0).
Undrafted rookie Bryn Forbes has thrived with the D-League affiliate of the Spurs this season, writes Jeff Garcia of News 4 San Antonio. In games for Austin, the Michigan State product is averaging 23.4 points per game and shooting an impressive .563 from the field. Forbes remains behind Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Jonathon Simmons on the depth chart, but will likely see time in and out of San Antonio as the year progresses.

Rockets’ Clint Capela Breaks Fibula, Out 4-6 Weeks

December 20th, 2016 at 10:51am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 20: The Rockets have confirmed that Capela has a small left fibula fracture, announcing the diagnosis today in a press release. The big man will be re-evaluated in four weeks, according to the team.

We heard earlier today that Houston is “probing” the trade market for available bigs, but will likely roll with in-house options like Nene and Montrezl Harrell.

DECEMBER 19: Rockets center Clint Capela has a broken fibula, according to Hunter Atkins of The Houston Chronicle. The news was confirmed by Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston, who says league sources expect Capela to miss about six weeks (Twitter link).

Capela underwent an MRI today after banging knees with Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns in Saturday’s game. Capela will have another scan to confirm the seriousness of the injury.

The news was broken by L’Equipe, a sports publication based in France. The Rockets have not released the results of the MRI or commented publicly on Capela’s condition.

The third-year center out of Switzerland moved into the starting lineup this season with the departure of Dwight Howard to the Hawks. Capela is averaging 11.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 28 games.

While Capela is out, the center duties will fall mainly to Nene, who signed with the team over the summer and second-year player Montrezl Harrell. The Rockets matched an offer sheet for Lithuanian big man Donatas Motiejunas earlier this month, but decided to release him after he took a physical.

Rockets Exploring Trade Market For Big Men

December 20th, 2016 at 9:33am CST by Luke Adams

With Clint Capela expected to be sidelined until late January due to a leg injury, the Rockets are probing the trade market for available bigs, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Since the trade deadline is still more than two months away, teams may not be compelled to deal quite yet, so the most likely scenario is that Houston gives Capela’s minutes to players like Nene and Montrezl Harrell, per Wojnarowski.

While Nerlens Noel has been the most-discussed trade candidate over the last few days, there are several big men around the NBA believed to be available. Greg Monroe has long been on the block in Milwaukee, and players like Kosta Koufos, Andrew Bogut, and Kenneth Faried have been mentioned as trade candidates in recent months, though their teams aren’t necessarily looking to move them right now. As Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer details, a handful of teams around the NBA have frontcourt logjams, so there could be a few potential matches for Houston.

Free agency is also an option for the Rockets, though the team would have to open up a spot on its 15-man roster to sign someone. The most notable big man on the free agent market also seems unlikely to sign with Houston — Donatas Motiejunas is now an unrestricted free agent, after enduring a contract standoff with the Rockets that lasted several months.

While it’s worth keeping an eye on the Rockets in the coming weeks, the team would probably be more inclined to make a move if Capela’s injury was projected to keep him out for most or all of the season. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Houston is still waiting for “final medical intel” on Capela’s injury, but is expecting him to miss about four to six weeks. That timeline would put him on track to return well before the February 23 trade deadline.

Southwest Notes: Gasol, D-League, Fizdale, Harrell

November 27th, 2016 at 11:44am CST by Arthur Hill

A consistent scorer since entering the NBA, Pau Gasol has faced a huge adjustment since signing with the Spurs this summer, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Gasol went scoreless Friday in Boston and he has put up a pair of two-point games during the early season. It’s a change for Gasol, who has averaged 18.1 points per game through his career, but apparently not an issue for coach Gregg Popovich. “I’m not really too concerned with who scores and who doesn’t,” Popovich said. “We just try to have more than the other guys.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The largest rookie class in Spurs history has gotten a lot of D-League training, McDonald notes in a separate piece. Bryn Forbes, Davis Bertans, Dejounte Murray and Nicolas Laprovittola all earned spots on San Antonio’s roster, but they have spent much of their first month in Austin. “It’s been real important to us, keeping guys in shape and getting guys minutes, learning the game, learning the NBA,” Popovich said. “We’ve been fortunate we have had guys who have had the character and humility to do that and not think it’s below them.”
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale defended his maintenance program after point guard Mike Conley was used as a reserve and played just 23 minutes in Friday’s loss, relays Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Conley, who re-signed during the summer for $153MM over five years, said he is willing to trust Fizdale’s strategy, while the coach admitted it’s a work in progress. “Obviously you can tell the number of minutes that [Conley] played, what was happening,” Fizdale said. “I just tried to find a balance somewhere and just try to patch it up where we can, going after the win.”
Second-year Rockets big man Montrezl Harrell is finding his opportunities limited behind Clint Capela and Nene, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Circumstances have given Harrell more playing time than usual the past two games, but coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t expect him to become part of the rotation. “Not that I don’t have confidence in him,” D’Antoni said. “I have a lot of confidence in him. It’s just hard. I want to get Clint up to 30 minutes. Clint is playing as well as anybody on our team. If I get him up to 30, that leaves only 18. Now, you’re trying to split time. Is that nine minutes each, 12 minutes for one guy and six [for the other]? In special circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate. If we’re a little sluggish, I wouldn’t hesitate … because I think he brings energy and something different. But it’s hard to play three guys in that role if one guy is taking up 30 minutes. It’s almost impossible. It’s not fair to the other two guys, actually.”

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