A new report suggests that Los Angeles Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell could be among the players who, due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, could receive a substantially less lucrative paycheck when they enter free agency in the 2020 offseason.
As reported by ESPN's Tim Bontemps on Monday, the pressure may be on several "top players" in the free-agent class of 2020 to perform well during the resumption of the currently-suspended 2019-20 season in order to ensure that they receive satisfactory contract offers during the offseason. While a good playoff performance could lead to someone receiving a massive paycheck, one unnamed Eastern Conference executive was quoted as telling Bontemps that Harrell, in particular, could be paid about one-third less than what he's currently making when he signs a new contract as a free agent.
"Everybody has done their work. So you can only go down. Harrell could go from [being] an $18 million guy to a $12 million guy. They can only get worse."
Although Harrell posted big numbers (18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds per game) as an off-the-bench player for the Clippers prior to the league's suspension in March, Bleacher Report wrote that the 26-year-old has a number of things that could work against him when it comes to his impending free agency.
