Sixers Officially Announce Montrezl Harrell Signing
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The Philadelphia 76ers’ hunt for a backup center has officially concluded this offseason. On Tuesday, the Sixers announced they had signed the seasoned veteran big man Montrezl Harrell. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, per a team release.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Harrell inked a two-year deal worth over $5 million. The second year on the contract is a player option for Harrell.
Philly’s recent signing is another reunion for the team’s President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey. After bringing in former Houston Rockets members P.J. Tucker, Danuel House Jr., and Trevelin Queen, Harrell becomes another former Rocket to join the 76ers.
In addition to Morey, Harrell reunites with Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. Prior to coaching the Sixers, Rivers spent seven seasons coaching the Los Angeles Clippers.
For three of his seven seasons playing in the NBA, Harrell played under Rivers in Los Angeles. During that time, Harrell appeared in 221 games. He averaged 23 minutes off the bench, putting up 15 points per game while coming down with 5.8 rebounds and blocking 1.1 shots.
During his final season with the Clippers, Harrell earned the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award before moving on to play with the Los Angeles Lakers. While Harrell didn’t mirror the same success with the Lakers, he was still a solid backup, averaging 13 points and six rebounds in 69 games.
Last season, Harrell split time between Washington and Charlotte. With the Wizards, the big man averaged 14 points and 6.7 rebounds. After moving on from the Wizards, Harrell joined the Charlotte Hornets for 25 games and put up 11 points while coming down with 4.9 rebounds.
Before the Harrell signing, the Sixers had just Paul Reed and Charles Bassey behind Joel Embiid at the five spot. While the team is hopeful one of the two youngsters could compete for consistent minutes behind Embiid during the 2022-2023 season, Harrell brings reliability behind Embiid as he’s a proven veteran in the NBA.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
