Getty Montrezl Harrell with LeBron James.
After various reports have come out in recent weeks that the Los Angeles Clippers lacked leadership last season, Montrezl Harrell is going from one of the worst leadership situations in the NBA to one of the best. The Los Angeles Lakers were lauded for their team chemistry last season and much of that was thanks to LeBron James, who has developed into one of the league’s great leaders. That could’ve played a role in why Harrell decided to ditch the Clippers in favor of the Lakers.
He’s been practicing with his new team and he can already tell that LeBron is on another level when it comes to leadership.
“I definitely think his leadership is a tremendous skill to have and I definitely think he’s built it up due to an unbelievable amount of work, and being a student of the game and everything that he’s put forth into this game,” Harrell said Sunday. “It definitely shows because he’s a guy in his 18th-19th season being in the NBA, man, and he’s still just getting better. He’s getting better every day, and it shows from his talking to guys, putting guys into the right places, letting us know what coach wants and where he wants us working on.
“So, I think we have a strong great leader on in LeBron — not only him: AD, Marc, a guy who’s been around the league as well. I just think we have great leadership overall.”
The Lakers have done a great job of filling out the roster with a ton of veteran leadership behind LeBron. If they run into problems, it’s going to be very different than the kind the Clippers ran into last season.
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Harrell Talks Lakers-Clippers Comparison
Whether Harrell likes it or not, he’s probably going to get asked about the Clippers quite a bit this season. That’s what happens when you switch to a team that you were sharing a building with. He was asked about the comparison between the Lakers and the Clippers but he just stuck to praising his new team.
“It’s two different teams you’re asking about,” Harrell said. “You know, this is where I am and this chemistry that we’re trying to build is going to take a while to build because we haven’t all been on the floor at the same time together, we’re still learning each other. We’re still getting a feel for how each one of us plays and the little things that we want done.
“There are a couple guys who’ve been here who had the honor of playing together and actually winning the championship last year, but to a certain extent, we almost have a whole new five on the team — more, really — and it’s just going to take some time in general, man. I think with any given chemistry, or reset to a roster, or rebuild to a roster, it’s gonna take time to gel and kind of understand the ins and outs of just each other as teammates and players.”
If the Lakers proved anything last year, they are capable of building chemistry at a rapid rate. While there are going to be a lot of new faces in the building, chemistry shouldn’t be too much of a concern for the team this season.
Patrick Beverley Surprised Harrell Left
There have been rumors that the Clippers were fine with Harrell leaving but that doesn’t appear to be a universal feeling. Patrick Beverley was very surprised by the news and admitted it.
Reporter: “Did it really catch you off guard [that Montrezl Harrell joined the Lakers]?”
Patrick Beverley: “Yes.”
Beverley isn’t a guy who is going to be involved with any decision the team makes but it’s clear that not everybody on the team was expecting him to leave and nobody was probably expecting him to go to the Lakers of all teams.