Getty Images Montrezl Harrell of the Washington Wizards.
There is no love lost between former Los Angeles Lakers teammates Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder, who faced each other on Saturday with their new squads.
Harrell was matched up on Schroder for a brief moment during the game, spinning off him and dunking the ball. As he trotted back up the court he looked at Schroder and yelled, “you’re trash.”
“You’re trash!” 🗣
Trezz had some words for Schröder after this bucket
Schroder wasn’t exactly a pillar in the Lakers locker room and didn’t end his tenure on a good note. Reports emerged that he and Kyle Kuzma “feuded” through the season and he also vastly overvalued his market value, turning down an $84 million extension from the Lakers. Schroder settled on a deal worth less than $6 million for one year with the Celtics.
Harrell was coming off winning Sixth Man of the Year when he joined the Lakers but ended up getting lost in the shuffle once the team brought aboard Andre Drummond. Harrell averaged 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds on 62.2% shooting in his first and only season with the Lakers, coming exclusively off the bench.
“I didn’t really get to be utilized how I wanted to be last year,” Harrell told reporters after the Wizards’ first preseason tilt on Tuesday, October 5. “I damn near felt like I had a season off.”
Former Lakers Thriving in New Homes
The Lakers opted for a full rebuild this offseason, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Talen Horton-Tucker serving as the only holdovers from last year’s squad. The Lakers gave up a boatload to get Russell Westbrook to serve as the team’s third star, which included sending Kuzma, Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Washington.
Kuzma appears to have had the biggest shift thanks to the chance of scenery, blossoming in a starting role again. He’s averaging a double-double with 15.5 points and 11.8 rebounds, playing nearly 39 minutes per game. He argued for a more consistent role at the end of last season while speaking to Bleacher Report, expressing that he felt he could be an All-Star level talent.
“I definitely can. I definitely believe that, too,” Kuzma said when asked if he could become an All-Star. “I don’t really care what nobody thinks or says. I know myself, and I know my ability. It’s hard to be consistent in an inconsistent role. I’m excited for a more consistent space next year.”
Harrell is playing more than 30 minutes off the bench in Washington, averaging 19.3 points and 10.2 rebounds. Caldwell-Pope has been a defensive stalwart for the Wizards and is shooting over 46% from beyond the arc.
Lakers Still Figuring Out New Lineups
The Lakers have been one of — if not the best — defensive teams in the league over the last two seasons, which hasn’t been the case with all the adjustments to the roster this season. However, the Lakers held the Rockets to 54 points and forced 25 turnovers in their latest victory on Sunday, which could be a sign of things to come for Frank Vogel’s squad.
“Huge growth on the defensive side of the ball, not because of the lineup but because of our work,” Vogel told reporters after beating Houston 95-85. “We’ve been really hammering the details with these guys on the areas that we’ve been failing. We’ve had very productive film sessions and they’ve been challenged with things like containment and low man and executing our coverages the right way and finishing possessions, which we did a much better job getting into people. (We were) very relaxed with our boxouts the last few games but all those areas were improved tonight.”
Now above the .500 mark, the Lakers get the Rockets again on Tuesday as they look to move to 5-3.