Will Montrezl Harrell Return to 76ers Next Season?

On Wednesday, Philadelphia 76ers center Montrezl Harrell declined his player option for the 2023-2024 NBA season, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. With that move, Harrell is set to become a free agent for the second-straight season.

During last year’s offseason, Harrell waited a while before making his next move. While facing legal trouble, interested teams kept tabs on Harrell as they waited to see what was next. Although he faced felony charges, the charges were downgraded to a misdemeanor.

At that point, Harrell was expected to find his next NBA destination. The Sixers quickly got involved as they searched for a veteran center that could compete for the steady backup role behind Joel Embiid.

At the time, the Sixers had multiple centers beyond Embiid under contract in Paul Reed and Charles Bassey. When Harrell signed on with the Sixers, he inked a two-year deal, with the second season being a player option for the 2023-2024 season.

Harrell was coming off stints with two different teams. After his one-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020-2021, Harrell was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2021-2022. After spending 46 games with the Wizards, Harrell was traded to the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the deadline.

The veteran big man wrapped up his 2021-2022 season by playing 25 games for Charlotte. He averaged 11 points and five rebounds while spending an average 21 minutes on the floor coming off the bench.

Harrell’s move to Philadelphia was a no-brainer, considering the familiarity he had within the organization. Not only did Harrell previously play with 76ers point guard James Harden during his two-year run with the Houston Rockets early on in his career, but Harrell also spent three seasons playing for Doc Rivers on the Los Angeles Clippers.

His three-year run with the Clippers was by far his best stretch in the NBA, as Harrell’s 2019-2020 season ended with him being crowned the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year after he averaged 19 points, and seven rebounds in 63 games.

During his first year in Philadelphia, Harrell had an up-and-down stint as Doc Rivers rotated backups behind Embiid. Harrell saw the court for 57 games, even picking up seven starts. The veteran big man averaged six points and three rebounds after seeing the court for just 12 minutes per game, his lowest average since his rookie season in 2015-2016.

With Harrell struggling to find consistency during his first season with the Sixers, the veteran has opted to look for a change.