Charlotte Hornets trade for Montrezl Harrell, send two players to Wizards
Montrezl Harrell has played well in his visits to Charlotte. The Tarboro, N.C., native is about to get the opportunity to do it a little more often.
The Hornets acquired Harrell from Washington prior to Thursday’s NBA trade deadline in exchange for Ish Smith, Vernon Carey Jr. and the Boston Celtics’ 2023 second-round pick, which is top-45 protected.
Bringing in Harrell, a seven-year pro, addresses a major need for the Hornets and should assist in providing them with more rim protection than they currently possess. It’s a glaring area of deficiency that has been exploited by opponents repeatedly this season, and the Hornets had to try to do something to improve it. He’s not the greatest of defenders at times, but his work rate, length and energy allow him to be effective enough.
Harrell, 28, averaged 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists mostly as a reserve for Washington. In his two games against the Hornets this season, he was a force and totaled 39 points and 27 rebounds. He’s not a great 3-point shooter and isn’t going to stretch the defense much. He has made just 26.7 percent of his attempts beyond the arc this season.
Scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason, he is in the final season of a two-year, $18.9 million pact he signed as a free agent to play with the Los Angeles in 2020. But after one season with the Lakers, he was traded to the Wizards in July along with Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Russell Westbrook.
Sending Smith back to the team he played for last season prior to signing with the Hornets as free agent in August opens up potential playing time in the backcourt for James Bouknight. The rookie got into a public spat with coach James Borrego on Saturday during the Hornets’ loss to Miami and hasn’t played in their past two games due to a sprained right wrist. Borrego said they were going to do their best to find time for Bouknight and this could be the avenue the 21-year-old needs to see more action.
Harrell’s arrival doesn’t exactly make the Hornets playoff contenders, but he’s a solid piece they can count on while they’re on the mend. They are beat up physically and their depth has taken a hit after losing Gordon Hayward for, in all likelihood, at least a month. The Hornets had tangible postseason expectations, which were dangling well within reach just weeks ago when they were a fingernail away from sixth place. But they’ve slipped into ninth place heading into their matchup in Detroit on Friday.
Their roster is a bit thin and is getting overworked and stretched to its limits. Harrell, at the very least, can aid in giving them another body to utilize so they don’t wear everyone down and further limp into next week’s All-Star break.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 2:35 PM.
