Pros And Cons: Montrezl Harrell Signs With The Sixers
Just when I thought we were in the relaxing part of the NBA offseason, the Sixers made an unexpected transaction out of nowhere.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Just when I thought we were in the relaxing part of the NBA offseason, the Sixers made an unexpected transaction out of nowhere -- according to reports, they are signing big-man Montrezl Harell to a two-year contract, with the second year of the deal containing a player option.
This is the third year in a row that Daryl Morey and his front office have signed a veteran big with a noteworthy track record to serve as Joel Embiid’s backup, with all three -- Harrell, Andre Drummond and Dwight Howard -- being major surprises at their respective times.
So, there are a lot of things to take away from this. Let’s get to that now:
The James Harden and Harrell connection
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Harden recruiting Harrell was a key factor in the latter’s decision to join the Sixers. And that makes sense: Harden and Harrell were once teammates in Houston, and Harrell is the exact type of big-man that Harden has made so impactful on offense.
Harden is one of the league’s premier pick-and-roll ball-handlers, thanks in large part to his brilliant acumen as a passer. He has turned shaky players into useful ones on several occasions. And despite some of his flaws (we’ll get there), Harrell is an excellent offensive player when optimized -- he is a strong roller to the rim and is more than satisfactory as a lob threat.
If you were to make a shortlist of players that someone like Harrell would want to play with, Harden would undoubtedly be near the top.
Reasons for concern
As we saw far too often last spring during the DeAndre Jordan fiasco, Doc Rivers has very strong inclinations towards giving as much playing time as possible to those he has coached before and feels more comfortable with, even if there are superior options.
I will say this: when the season begins, Harrell will be the second-best big on the Sixers’ roster. But he has been exploited defensively in the playoffs on several occasions, and is someone who needs to have a tight leash in high leverage situations.
Rivers has already been burned for being too reliant on Harrell in the past during his time coaching Harrell with the Los Angeles Clippers. And I think I speak for all of us when I say it is not remotely difficult to envision history repeating itself.
How does this impact Paul Reed and Charles Bassey?
After Reed’s impressive postseason performance, it appeared he was the leader in the clubhouse to be Embiid’s backup in 2022-23. And in my opinion, that was justifiable: after very few experiences in the regular season, he stepped right into a playoff series and gave the Sixers competent minutes, and at times even put in actively productive stretches. And I’m not sure people quite grasp how impressive that is for such a young player -- surviving the playoffs in itself is a massive challenge for a young player; doing so after not being given consistent playing time in the regular season is marvelous.
Bassey definitely has shown flashes of promise as well, despite definitely being a step or two behind Reed in most settings. But he has the build and theoretical skills to succeed at the NBA level. Bassey remains very raw, however, and even proponents of his long-term future would likely agree he isn’t quite ready to be a constant rotation player.
Especially given that Harrell was likely promised consistent playing time, a path to nightly minutes for Reed and Bassey just got a lot tougher to navigate.
Is a trade coming soon, or will there just be a roster crunch in training camp?
Once the season begins, the Sixers can only have 15 players on NBA contracts (not two-way deals) -- while you can carry up to 20 during training camp and the preseason. As things currently stand, the Sixers have 17 players on NBA deals, two above the limit for the regular season.
So, it’s anybody’s guess where things go from here -- Morey and co. could look to consolidate by making a two-for-one or even three-for-one trade that upgrades the rotation and frees roster space.
The Sixers could also simply cut two young players -- perhaps some combination of Bassey, Isaiah Joe or Trevelin Queen.
Nobody knows what this front office is planning right now, but expect to either see a consolidation trade at some point in the next month or so, or some good old fashioned training camp battles for roster spots.