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The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the more surprising moves of free agency when they signed Montrezl Harrell away from the Clippers. However, it doesn’t seem all that surprising he would leave his former team in hindsight. Harrell even suggested that they didn’t want him back.
Harrell isn’t a guy who likes to keep his thoughts to himself all the time and he posted an interesting tweet on Sunday night.
Now, this tweet from the reigning Sixth Man of the Year could be about anything but it’s possible it’s about the Clippers. Essentially what it could be saying is that Harrell believes he’s getting blamed for the team’s debacle last year, but he believes that he was trying to bring attention to the issues they had. Regardless, the tweet is open to interpretation but it’s clear that he has issues with the Clippers or he wouldn’t have joined the team that they share a building with.
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Did Clippers Want Harrell Back?
Harrell had a career year last season so it would’ve been easy to suggest that the Clippers would do what they could to keep him. However, it’s unclear if they even wanted him back. The big man got pretty candid about the situation after he signed with the Lakers.
“I mean, that goes without saying,” Harrell said when asked if the Clippers wanted him back. “Apparently not if I’m on the other side. So it is what it is, really.”
He was one of the Clippers’ best players during the regular season last year but faltered in the bubble. While that is cause for concern, he was coping with the death of his grandmother. Also, many players struggled in the bubble. Despite those facts, it seems like Harrell might be right about the Clippers not wanting him back. NBA Insider for Fox Sports Chris Broussard has said recently that they didn’t want him back because he caused issues in the locker room. That’s definitely somewhat concerning information, but the Lakers shouldn’t be worried about Harrell.
Harrell Should Be Just Fine With the Lakers
Harrell is a passionate player and has some trouble biting his tongue from time to time. Having him on a Clippers team with little to no leadership was a recipe for disaster once they started to struggle. Fortunately for the Lakers, he shouldn’t become a distraction for them.
LeBron James is one of the strongest leaders in the league and is a huge upgrade over Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers had excellent team chemistry last season despite dealing with a lot of adversity. It’s hard to imagine Harrell causing problems in such a strong environment. The Lakers won a championship last season for a reason and the big man will buy into what the team is selling. Harrell probably was no longer a fit with the Clippers because they just do things a different way. The Lakers are filled with winners now and Harrell should thrive.
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