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queridiculo wrote:Can't wait to root for him in a Wizards uniform.

Fella brings some much needed attitude and interior muscle, and while his game has repeatedly fizzled out in the playoffs I'd be perfectly content with having him help this team over the 50 win hump....

queridiculo wrote:...I'm really loving the versatility the Wizards have at center and PF between Gafford, Harrell, Kuzma, Bertans and Hachimura and I'd love to see how Harrell is going to push Gafford in those scrimmages....

queridiculo wrote:...If Beal can stay healthy and Dinwiddie finds his groove I could see Washington shock the league much like the Knicks did last year.

queridiculo wrote:Can't wait to root for him in a Wizards uniform.

Fella brings some much needed attitude and interior muscle, and while his game has repeatedly fizzled out in the playoffs I'd be perfectly content with having him help this team over the 50 win hump.

I'm really loving the versatility the Wizards have at center and PF between Gafford, Harrell, Kuzma, Bertans and Hachimura and I'd love to see how Harrell is going to push Gafford in those scrimmages.

If Beal can stay healthy and Dinwiddie finds his groove I could see Washington shock the league much like the Knicks did last year.

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:If I were coaching this Wizards team I would ask Kyle Kuzma if he is okay with playing two or three different positions. I've been watching video of him and he looks like he can dribble the ball like a guard and he can shoot from the top of the key. I don't see why he can't play small forward and even backup.

payitforward wrote:Harrell is a very good player, no doubt about it. & you cite his intense motivation. He's not very versatile, & he hasn't done well in the playoffs. But he is dxmned good all the same.

The only problem he presents for us is that he isn't as good as Bryant or Gafford. Then again, Bryant won't be ready at the beginning of the season, & that make Trez a big plus in the short term. If we are able to trade him once Bryant is back, I would expect to get a pretty good return.

Of course, we could trade Bryant instead -- depending on how much more he got back, that would be fine. But, it would have to be a significant difference, because Bryant is much younger than Trez & earlier in his development. He's a more valuable asset.

At the same time, Harrell wants to stay true to what made him the third-place vote-getter for Sixth Man of the Year in 2018-19. He’s a monster in the paint and needs to remain near the block to be most effective. His bread-and-butter is rolling to the rim — statistically he’s one of the three or four best roll men in the league — and upholding arguably the game’s best pick-and-roll tandem with Williams.

“I don’t get away from that because if a guy can’t stop it, he can’t stop it,” Harrell says. “But at the same time, I know I could be able to get like I’m going to go to my running hook and be able to pull up where I’m at and knock the shot down with confidence. I’m going to be able to get to my spots on the floor where I feel that I can work and do the most damage at and be able to score and get a bucket from there.”

What’s clear — from his private workouts, to his play in the UCLA pick-up runs, to his performances on the weekends at the Drew League and AEBL — is that Harrell has already made significant progress this offseason.

His shot looks cleaner and more fluid. He can knock down 3s and long 2s in game situations, including step-back and off-the-dribble heaves. While Hines’ pickup runs don’t precisely replicate NBA gameplay, they are as close to the real thing as it gets during the summer. The offseason is one thing; the regular season is another. The next step for Harrell is to implement his shooting into actual NBA games, which will only happen if he proves to the Clippers’ coaching staff that his strides are legitimate.

“I feel confident in my game and where I’m at,” Harrell says. “We worked extremely hard on being able to create my shot and knowing my shot.”

Harrell and Hines will train together through late September, when Hines has to fly up to Sacramento to be with the Kings during their training camp and Harrell and the Clippers will be flying to Hawaii for training camp and preseason action.

Throughout the three-plus month process, an already strong relationship has grown stronger. Hines is selective with who he trains — he’s kept his one-on-one training to Harrell, Thomas Bryant and Trevor Ariza, a fellow Bruin, this offseason — as it’s more about the personal connection with a player for him than the exposure or the money.

badinage wrote:

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:If I were coaching this Wizards team I would ask Kyle Kuzma if he is okay with playing two or three different positions. I've been watching video of him and he looks like he can dribble the ball like a guard and he can shoot from the top of the key. I don't see why he can't play small forward and even backup.

But does he have deep knee bennnnnnnnd …?

doclinkin wrote:

payitforward wrote:Harrell is a very good player, no doubt about it. & you cite his intense motivation. He's not very versatile, & he hasn't done well in the playoffs. But he is dxmned good all the same.

The only problem he presents for us is that he isn't as good as Bryant or Gafford. Then again, Bryant won't be ready at the beginning of the season, & that make Trez a big plus in the short term. If we are able to trade him once Bryant is back, I would expect to get a pretty good return.

Of course, we could trade Bryant instead -- depending on how much more he got back, that would be fine. But, it would have to be a significant difference, because Bryant is much younger than Trez & earlier in his development. He's a more valuable asset.

I like that Bryant and Harrell are friends who trained together under Rico Hines in LA and played against each other at his open runs. They both bring the energy. I can see them motivating each other and everyone around them.

I like that all 3 centers have distinct skill sets. Harrell can handle and out-quick opposing Bigs. Bryant has range, length, and efficient scoring underneath. Gafford has game changing shot blocking and opens up the aerial passing lanes.

I doubt that we play 3 centers as we did last year, but if all are healthy at the same time they each can play high effort minutes and not care if they rack fouls trying to contain Embiid or Giannis. I'm not too worried about Coach Wes finding utility for all of them.

Yes if they each play well then let other teams come sniffing around juicing up a trade, if not, then play the one who's best. They can fight it out and earn it. I don't strictly think it is a done deal that one or the other is head and shoulders above the rest. Even Trez has room to improve. Every year he has gotten better, last year was his best rebounding year, best year from the FT line. If he is in fact adding a useful 3 ball, suddenly he has significant added utility. That or improved footwork on defense would bump his value to any coach or team. If he puts in the work with a good trainer he can speed up his lateral shiftiness and improve at staying in front of a player on the shift. He doesn't have the high center of gravity that a player like Bryant does, looks like he could improve his side to side work if he concentrates his effort here and focuses on it. it is not outside of possibility that Trez manages to speed up on D.

4. Montrezl Harrell, Washington Wizards
This could be a group entry, the guys GM Tommy Shepard points to when Executive of the Year nominations are being cast. Kyle Kuzma has enhanced his reputation since leaving the Lakers. Spencer Dinwiddie, in his return from a torn right ACL last year, fits more nicely next to Bradley Beal than Russell Westbrook did. And Harrell has felt unleashed while still fulfilling his Sixth Man duties. Want to explain his bump of more than four points and about three rebounds per game from 2020-21 with the Lakers? It’s all in the PT, up from 22.9 minutes to 30.0. As he said recently, “Montrezl Harrell is on the floor, brother. That’s the biggest difference. … I didn’t really get to be utilized how I wanted to be last year. I damn near felt like I had a season off.”

payitforward wrote:Just pulling this thread up from page 2 -- odd it would get there given the way Montrezl Harrell is playing!

Trez is having by far his best season. For sure, he is one of the top 5 Centers in the NBA this year & pretty likely among the top ten players in the league in overall productivity! Although he comes off the bench, he's playing @30 minutes a game & routinely wins POTG for us. He is scoring over 25 points per 40 minutes -- at a TS% of 71.2% !!

I bring this up to praise him, of course, but also b/c the season he's having poses a serious problem for us. We may not be able to keep him! Assuming he keeps playing this way, he is going to get a really big contract offer this off season.

It's also important to note that we really can't trade Thomas Bryant unless we are absolutely certain we'll be able to re-sign Trez. Daniel Gafford is terrific, no doubt, but he continues to be a 20-minute-per-game player.

If we're going to do our job as shadow FO, we need nate to start thinking about this problem right now.

payitforward wrote:Trez is having by far his best season. For sure, he is one of the top 5 Centers in the NBA this year & pretty likely among the top ten players in the league in overall productivity! Although he comes off the bench