New Lakers big Montrezl Harrell suggests the Clippers didn't want him back

One of the spicier transactions of this NBA free agency season was when reigning Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell elected to leave the Los Angeles Clippers and join their cross-town rivals, the Lakers.

It was an important signing for the Lakers, who have now retooled their championship-winning lineup, adding Marc Gasol, Dennis Schröder, Wesley Matthews and Harrell to their very excellent cornerstones of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who are, as we know, very good at basketball.

For Clippers fans, however, they might have been left wondering how exactly the Clippers let Harrell walk to their crosstown rivals.

Harrell himself may have let a hint to how it happened when he spoke to the press this week, suggesting that the Clippers didn’t do enough to retain his services.

During his introductory Zoom press conference, a reporter asked if it felt like the Clippers wanted him back.

Harrell gave a meaty pause, then responded “Apparently not if I’m on the other side.”

Reporter – “Did you feel like the Clippers wanted you back?”

Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell, after a long pause trying to find the words – “Apparently not if I’m on the other side.” pic.twitter.com/p9DbTKrajU

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 23, 2020

He went on: “Of course, I still have great respect for those guys and for that organization. But as far as if they wanted me back? Obviously, it just doesn’t seem that way, does it?”

What’s interesting about all this is that because the Clippers had Harrell’s “Bird Rights” (the ability to go over the salary cap to pay a player to remain on your roster), they could have — in theory — offered him quite a bit more money than the Lakers could.

The Lakers offered Harrell the full midlevel exception, which he took. The Clippers then gave their midlevel exception to Serge Ibaka, and that’s how things have landed. I look forward to this beef simmering over into next season.