Is It Over For Montrezl Harrell?
Montrezl Harrell played 57 regular season games last season with the Philadelphia 76ers – a stint that saw him average a paltry 5.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game, marking the lowest figures since his rookie campaign. He only managed to suit up for two games during the 2023 playoffs while failing to register a single point.
Despite his limited production during the 2022-2023 campaign, the Sixers signed the 29-year-old centre to a one-year deal worth $2.8M. Unfortunately, a recent MRI has uncovered a torn ACL and Meniscus meaning Harrell could be out for the entirety of the upcoming season. The finding is a devastating blow both for Harrell and his NBA future.
Harrell’s career averages stand at 12.1 points, five rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.5 steals per contest on 61.9% field goal shooting. He’s played 515 regular-season games (including 36 starts) and won the Sixth Man of the Year award with the Los Angeles Clippers back in 2020. He was the first big man to achieve the feat since the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom accomplished it back in 2011.
The Louisville product has had stints with the Houston Rockets, the Lakers, the Washington Wizards, and the Charlotte Hornets. At his best, he can be a reliable backup big and can easily energize the crowds with his dunks. However, being an undersized centre coupled with knee problems means his future in the league is suddenly very much in doubt.
What’s Next?
With a guaranteed $2.8M in the bag for Harrell, it’s now a question of what’s next for the veteran big man. If you look at the Sixers’ roster depth, Harrell joins Paul Reed, Mo Bamba, and PJ Tucker on the backup list for Joel Embiid. With Harrell ostensibly out of the picture next season, incoming Sixers Head Coach Nick Nurse must now work with the players he has to help manage Embiid’s minutes.
En route to winning his first MVP award, Joel Embiid averaged a league-leading 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, and one steal, on 54.8% field goal shooting during the 2022-2023 regular season. However, the Sixers lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals after blowing a 3-2 series lead which led to the departure of Doc Rivers as head coach.
The Sixers still have a James Harden trade request to deal with. And, Joel Embiid just signed a new four-year contract worth $213.2M so the Sixers are financially restricted in terms of what they can do with their roster to replace Harrell.
In his contract, Montrezl Harrell can’t be traded until December 15, 2023. With his deal guaranteed anyway, it’s highly likely that if the team does opt to trade James Harden, they’ll try to add Harrell into a package in a cap clearing move.
However, an ACL tear is a major injury, one which could take years to recover from. While Harrell himself won’t be in any mood to begin contemplating retirement, with his production declining in each of the last two years, and suddenly being on the wrong side of 30 coming off a major injury, his NBA options won’t be numerous if he does make a comeback attempt in the future.
Never a dull moment on the Philadelphia sports scene.
-Iggy Gonzales
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