LA Clippers Rumors: Montrezl Harrell has several suitors

Montrezl Harrell has several suitors including the LA Clippers.

The LA Clippers have several key free agents this season with the most notable name being Montrezl Harrell. Harrell is coming off the best year of his career and will likely have multiple suitors including the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors, and New York Knicks.

While each of those teams will make a run at him, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required), the LA Clippers and Harrell have mutual interest in agreeing to a new deal.

At the time, no one is really sure just how big of a deal Harrell will get. He played the best ball of his career this season, netting him the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Through the regular season, it seemed like Harrell would be one of, if not the top free agents on the market this offseason.

However, a poor playoff performance against both the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets have teams uncertain of his ability to play against bigger centers in the postseason. This has left the range of Harrell’s potential salary up in the air.

What should the LA Clippers offer Montrezl Harrell?

For the Clippers and Harrell, a one year deal with a second year player option may make the most sense as it would benefit both parties.

For Trezz, he can set out to potentially win another Sixth Man Award and hopefully secure himself a bigger payday in 2021. The offseason in 2021 is slated to have several big names including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and several others. Teams have begun to position themselves to make runs at these big names and if they strike out, second-tier free agents like Trezz could slide in and take the leftover money.

On the Clippers’ side, it makes sense in multiple ways. The team could have doubts after seeing Trezz’s playoff performance firsthand. By signing him for just one year, they would be able to evaluate his future while also keeping cap space fluid. As of now, it seems the team will prioritize re-signing both Leonard and George so keeping that cap space open makes sense. After they take care of that, they could re-sign Trezz.

By keeping him on the roster, the team also gives themself a trade asset. If Trezz doesn’t seem to be working, being on an expiring deal makes him an asset to be dealt at the trade deadline. Obviously we have no idea what his trade value at that time would be but the Clippers could in theory net something helpful a la the Marcus Morris trade this season.

Harrell will certainly have a lot of thinking to do this offseason as he is courted by several teams. With him being our most notable free agent, make sure to continue to check back here for all your rumors, updates, and more!