Former Lakers Big Man Suffers Torn ACL in Offseason Workouts

One former Laker's season has already come to an unfortunate end before it's begun as an injury will sideline this big man for most if not all of the 2023-2024 campaign

After swelling in his knee right knee, current Sixers big man underwent further testing that revealed a tear of his right ACL during an offseason workout.

76ers center Montrezl Harrell has a torn ACL and meniscus after undergoing an MRI Wednesday to assess recent right knee swelling following his offseason workouts.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2023

Harrell was originally drafted to the Houston Rockets in 2015 after his time with the Louisville Cardinals included winning the Karl Malone award as the top power forward in the nation to conclude his junior season.

After limited minutes with the Rockets, Harrell was included in the deal that eventually netted Houston Chris Paul from the Clippers.

Harrell alongside Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams as the main pieces in the deal helped guide the Clippers to a surprising playoff run in the 2018-19 season.

There the Clippers would take two games off of the then two-time defending champion Warriors with Kevin Durant, including a massive comeback win in Game 5 before falling in six to the eventual Western Conference champions.

After the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George, Harrell would be a part of the newest chapter in the Battle for LA between the new look Clippers and the Lakers, now headlined by Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

While the media hyped up their battle all season, the pandemic and subsequent bubble led to a massive collapse for the Clippers through a blown 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets and a failure to truly prove who was the better LA against the Lakers.

Off of winning the 2020 Sixth Man of the Year award, Harrell decided to switch locker rooms in the 2021 season, signing with the Lakers in their quest to repeat off of that aforementioned 2022 championship.

A diminished role and first round exit saw Harrell bounce around before choosing the Philadelphia 76ers in this most recent season. The energy big man would play backup minutes to future MVP Joel Embiid and looked to do the same this season before the injury.

We can only hope that this doesn't hinder the former Laker's career too badly and wish him a speedy recovery from the setback.