LA Clippers: The rise of Montrezl Harrell

On the rise of Montrezl Harrell whose future may or may not be with the LA Clippers.

Before the NBA season hit a hiatus, the LA Clippers were considered one of the three top favorites to win the NBA title. In fact, for much of the season, many considered the Clippers as the lone favorite to emerge as the championship this year.

While a big reason why is the dynamic duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, another big part of their success this season was Montrezl Harrell. The 26-year-old forward from Louisville just continues to get better and became extremely valuable for the Clippers this season.

Harrell became a true two-way player for the Clippers this season, capable of scoring 20 points on any given night and then defend some of the better bigs in the NBA at the same time. Averaging 19 points and seven rebounds per game this season, Harrell was on pace to his best statistical season to date.

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For a contender like the Clippers, Harrell is the exact type of “role” player that they need. He’s effective without the ball in his hands and can be relied on defensively. He’s a “super-glue” guy if you will.

And as he’s expected to hit the unrestricted free-agent market this summer, he should be in for a big payday. It might be difficult for the Clippers to retain him in the offseason and could come down to whether or not they truly believe Harrell can be a legit third option on a championship contender.

The Clippers are built to win more than one championship and they might need a player like Harrell on the roster to do so. Ideally, Harrell would re-sign with the club this offseason. However, it’s not that simple and may not be if there’s an all-out bidding war for him.

Make no question about it, the Clippers are talented all over the roster. But Harrell brings the type of energy that you simply can’t replicate. He’s special in that regard and is finally in a place where his skills are being properly utilized.

What Montrezl Harrell’s future holds, we may not know. What we do know is that he’s developed into a really good, valuable NBA player. And the best of his career could just be getting started. Will it be with the Clippers?