LA Clippers: Montrezl Harrell 2018-19 season review

New Expectations

Montrezl Harrell is one of the league’s best value contracts at just $6 million again next season and is clearly someone who contributes to winning basketball. Still, this is no longer the little brother Los Angeles Clippers of Donald Sterling.

Steve Balmer expects championships, and It’s fair to speculate on how well Harrell would hold up against finals-level opposition, given his defensive limitations and lack of range.

Harrell is 25 years old and doesn’t project to ever be more than a really good role player. Yet, his production and acceptance of a very specific and unglamorous role makes him a very valuable player.

The NBA is a pick-and-roll league, the bread-and-butter play of many of the association’s superstars, including recently acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

The LA Clippers are primed to be a pick-and-roll monster in 2019-20; just unfathomably difficult to stop.

Leonard and George each ran more than six pick-and-rolls per game last season and both ranked in the 90th percentile in efficiency.

The havoc Harrell will wreak diving to the rim while whomever isn’t handling the ball spaces to the weak side should have opposing coaches across the league cracking bottles to preemptively numb the pain.

The smart money says the Clippers retain Harrell unless a trade becomes available that makes the team demonstrably better. Williams and Harrell combine to make just $12 million in the last years of their contracts. Their presence negates the need to stagger George and Kawhi.

Few teams can match the kind of bench punch Harrell and Wiliams provide (113.0 offensive rating in 1,611 combined minutes last season) immediately after dealing with two superstars.

The bench mob also provide insurance if George’s shoulder injury lingers longer than expected or Leonard’s load-management needs, uh, managed more frequently. Western Conference bench units shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon.