Montrezl Harrell

A candidate for Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year, Harrell had a breakout campaign in 2018-19 -- his second year with the Clippers. With DeAndre Jordan moving on to Dallas, there were more minutes available at center for Harrell. In his 26.3 minutes per game, Harrell averaged 16.6 points on 61.5 percent shooting, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks. He racked up three 30-point games, 17 performances with double-digit boards and 14 games with at least three swats. Heading into the 2019-20 season, Harrell's role should be safe, and it appears he'll split time with Ivica Zubac at center. While that limits Harrell's upside, he'll be entering his age 26 season, so improvement is certainly on the table. And if Zubac suffers an injury, Harrell would presumably be in line for 30-plus minutes.

Despite the change of scenery, Harrell's role with the Clippers didn't change much from his final season in Houston. He spent the bulk of the year backing up DeAndre Jordan at center, while also occasionally getting minutes as a reserve power forward. Harrell finished the season averaging career highs of 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 63.4 percent from the field. The 6-foot-8 big man has a chance to up that workload once again looking forward to the upcoming campaign. Jordan opted to leave Los Angeles during free agency and takes with it his stellar averages of 12.0 points and 15.2 rebounds across 31.5 minutes. That's a lot of production to make up for and it seems unlikely that offseason addition Marcin Gortat will be the only one to do so. As a result, look for Harrell to absorb some of the minutes and he could even push Gortat for more time considering the veteran big man is coming off one of his worst seasons statistically in recent memory. Of course, Boban Marjanovic is also an option at center, but his size only allows him to stay on the court for short stretches. All that said, look for Harrell's role to grow in his fourth NBA season and he could become a deep league option for Fantasy purposes if Gortat struggles and the Clippers turn to Harrell for more time. It is worth it to note that he has no semblance of a three-point shot and he knocked down just 62.6 percent of his free throws.

Last season, Harrell saw his workload nearly double from his rookie season, jumping from 9.7 minutes to 18.3 minutes per game. His role, where he averaged 9.1 points (on an impressive 65.2 percent from the field) and 3.8 rebounds, was largely that of a reserve behind Rockets’ starter Clint Capela. Harrell spent most of his minutes at center last season, though his 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame makes him more suited for the power forward slot. His ability to stretch the floor, or lack thereof, is what is ultimately hindering him from being a legitimate power forward, as he shot just 31.0 percent from 10 feet and beyond last season on 42 attempts. Nevertheless, Harrell will likely see a similar workload with the Clippers this upcoming season as he did last year with the Rockets. Though, his exact role will largely depend on how coach Doc Rivers feels about Sam Dekker and Willie Reed as reserve frontcourt options as well.

The 32nd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft played sparingly as a rookie, seeing time in fewer than half of the Rockets’ games and averaging 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Harrell was impressive in 12 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, however, posting averages of 24.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 blocks in 38.9 minutes per game. Known for his scrappy style of play, the undersized Harrell is an explosive athlete but struggles shooting the ball outside of the painted area. Over the long haul, Harrell projects as a rebounding/defensive specialist, and that’s the role he’ll be asked to fill for the Rockets in 2016-17. Harrell’s physicality and hustle should be enough to earn him a minor rotational role, though his inability to space the floor could ultimately keep him from being a regular contributor in Mike D’Antoni’s pace-and-space system.

In his junior season with the Cardinals, Harrell averaged 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 35 minutes per game through 35 contests. After being drafted 32nd overall by the Rockets, Harrell played in four summer league games where he averaged 16.5 points, 1.0 assist, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.3 blocks in 28 minutes per game. The Louisville star surprised many this summer as he appeared to play with the same demeanor as he did in college but against better competition. Harrell is a phenomenal rebounder and is very lanky despite being a slightly undersized power forward at 6-8. With the impressive numbers he put up during summer league, Harrell is moving in the right direction towards playing time, but in order to start seeing extensive minutes, he will need to develop more of a three-point shot as he was only able to manage a mere 24 percent last year at Louisville.