According to a recent report, it’s possible that the Miami Heat might reload in the offseason by attempting to sign Los Angeles Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell on a lucrative short-term deal.
On Tuesday, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reported on the Los Angeles Clippers’ possible future following their loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals and the departure of longtime head coach Doc Rivers earlier this week. Talking about the status of the team’s incoming free agents, he wrote that Harrell is currently in a “tricky” situation, as he is fresh off a series where, at 6 feet, 8 inches, he was dominated by the Nuggets’ 7-foot-tall center, Nikola Jokic.
With that in mind, the Bleacher Report writer speculated that the Clippers might not be willing to match the price of rival teams that may show interest in acquiring the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year awardee. While Pincus mentioned several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and New York Knicks, that have enough salary-cap space to sign Harrell, he quoted one unnamed Eastern Conference executive, who said that the Heat might be among the 26-year-old’s likely suitors despite their interest in Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“They will leave space for Giannis, but they could give [Harrell] a big one-year deal. They always figure it out.”
As explained by Pincus, Miami would likely need to make a few considerations before potentially signing Harrell. These include coming up with the right price to re-sign veteran point guard Goran Dragic, as well as “[finding] a way out” of center/forward Kelly Olynyk’s player option, which is valued at $13.2 million. However, the aforementioned executive also brought up the possibility of landing Harrell via a sign-and-trade deal, which could give him a wider range of options apart from the aforementioned teams.
As shown on his Basketball-Reference page, Harrell had a career-best season in 2019-20 in various statistical categories, averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in only 27.8 minutes per game and shooting 58 percent from the field. He was, however, among the players mentioned in a recent story that discussed the alleged conflict within the Clippers organization during this year’s postseason, as he and Paul George reportedly had a “heated” argument over a turnover during Game 2 of their series against Denver.
Aside from the Heat, Hawks, Knicks, and Pistons, a few other organizations have been linked to Harrell, including the Phoenix Suns . The erstwhile Clippers star’s potential ability to effectively run pick-and-roll plays with All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker was brought up as a reason why he could be a good fit in Phoenix.
