Clippers silence on Montrezl Harrell, Ty Wallace may signal no return
The Los Angeles Clippers have remained quiet regarding restricted free agents Montrezl Harrell and Tyrone Wallace.
Despite free agency having been open for a week and the moratorium being lifted since Friday, there has been very little information regarding the Los Angeles Clippers and the status of their two restricted free agents. Both Montrezl Harrell and Tyrone Wallace were given qualifying offers, but we have yet to hear anything outside of that.
Montrezl Harrell
Fans assumed Harrell would be brought back quickly after his great season off the bench. After coming over in the Chris Paul trade, Harrell surprised fans with his motor off the bench. He almost looks to be a necessity to re-sign with so little big man depth on the roster.
Currently, the team only has Marcin Gortat, Boban Marjanovic and Angel Delgado signed as big men. The latter is on a two-way contract, so he doesn’t look to be part of the normal rotation. Although undersized, Harrell can play the center position in spurts.
Brad Turner of the LA Times noted at the start of free agency that the Clippers did have interest in bringing Harrell back. Surprisingly, there has been no reported interest from other teams despite his age and output. This bodes well for the Clips, who are hoping to keep money open for next summer. They may be able to offer him a reasonable contract which keeps cap space open if they don’t have to worry about matching other team’s offers.
Tyrone Wallace
Speaking of keeping money open, Tyrone Wallace has likewise been quiet on the free agency front. He was offered a contract towards the end of last season, but felt he was being low-balled. Now, it is becoming more likely he may not be with the team. Our buddy Lucas Hann from Clips Nation put out the following tweet regarding Ty.
On the Ty Wallace front: I'm told LAC offered a better deal in March than was reported, but balked at Ty's camp asking for a salary in the $4M range. Now, after drafting two guards (8 total on the roster), Clippers would be unlikely to match even a minimum-salary offer sheet. https://t.co/zNCQN3gBQv
— Lucas (@LucasJHann) July 9, 2018
Lucas hits the nail on the head. The Clippers have a trove of guards so there is no reason to bring in Wallace for anything substantial. Wallace may just be done with the Clippers unless he agrees to take less money.
Getting both players back would be great as they showed potential during the 2017-18 season. However, Wallace may be a necessary sacrifice as we focus on the summer of 2019.
Keep checking here and on Twitter as we keep an eye on the status of both players!