NBA Trade Grades: Hornets add Montrezl Harrell for postseason run
By Luke Duffy
NBA Trade Grades: The Montrezl Harrell deal – Charlotte Hornets
The player who should be most concerned by this deal is Nick Richards. Playing spot minutes for the Hornets, the second-year big man has been solid, but unspectacular. He has appeared in 40 games this year (starting five), and his personal statistics don’t really warrant much talk.
Richards is likely to be the odd man out, though, as he was a big body that the Hornets could use to trouble interior forces when Mason Plumlee went to the bench. Plumlee does much the same job, and is considerably better at it, while also having an underrated touch and ability to bring the ball up the court if needed as well.
This is why bringing in Harrell was a smart move. He is undersized for a big man but has a relentless motor. He is also different in some key ways to Plumlee, allowing the Hornets to throw different looks at opponents once the postseason begins. Plumlee, for all of his size, is comfortable operating outside the three-point line to link up play and pass to cutters.
Harrell, on the other hand, prefers to barrel his way inside, and looks to relish getting the upper hand of bigger bodies down in the paint. We know from Harrell’s past with the LA Clippers that he has no problem coming off the bench, either. It may be that he starts, at least initially, but Plumlee and Harrell are interchangeable depending on the matchup, and that is a real plus.
It cost the Hornets basically nothing to get him, and if it doesn’t work out, Harrell is an unrestricted free agent this summer anyway. So it was a (relatively) free shot to see if Harrell can help now, and the deal also created a modest amount of cap space for the offseason as well.
They might even bring Harrell back on a team-friendly deal if all goes well. It’s not the most inspiring move, but you can’t fault the logic here either. A smart get from the Hornets.