Report: Wizards Trade Montrezl Harrell to Hornets

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Former Louisville men’s basketball standout and current Washington Wizards forward/center Montrezl Harrell has been traded to the Charlotte Hornets, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Harrell is the lone piece heading to Charlotte, with the Hornets sending center Vernon Carey and point guard Ish Smith to the Wizards. As a result of the trade, Harrell is re-united with fellow former Cardinal Terry Rozier. The two were teammates at Louisville from 2013 to 2015.

Harrell only started three games over his 46 regular season appearances with the Wizards, but he still played an important role on the team. His 14.1 points per game was the most out of any non-starter, as was his 6.7 rebounds per game, and his field goal percentage of 64.5 ranked fourth in the NBA.

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound big man was traded from the Lakers to the Wizards last summer, one year removed from signing a two-year, $19 million contract prior to the start of the 2020-21 season.

Prior to that, Harrell had spent the previous three seasons in the city of Los Angeles with the Clippers, winning Sixth Man of the Year in 2019-20. Harrell was traded to the Clippers from the Houston Rockets during the 2017 offseason, where he had spent the first two years of his career. Houston selected him at No. 32 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

A three-year player for the Cardinals, the Tarboro, N.C. native averaged 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game during his 2014-15 junior campaign, winning the Karl Malone Award for the nation's top collegiate power forward. He finished his Louisville career as the program’s all-time dunk leader with 227, and as a National Champion in 2013.

(Photo of Montrezl Harrell: Scott Taetsch - USA TODAY Sports)

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