This summer, the Miami Heat should be acting with the intentions to return to title contention. As president, Pat Riley, expressed during the Heat’s 2020-21 season exit interview, there’s a clear intent to add assets around stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Miami will not only have the flexibility to sign a max-level free agent, but they’ll also have room to sign another rotational player for the mid-level exception. While this year’s free agency class doesn’t hold the largest collection of names, it’s important for the Heat to, at least, search for assets who can have an immediate contribution.
For Los Angeles Lakers center, Montrezl Harrell, he would be yet another quality acquisition for Miami’s needs on the interior and perhaps for their culture. Harrell holds a Player Option worth $9.7 million for next season and could opt-out to become an Unrestricted Free Agent.
He’s, most recently, previously known to have a significant role on Los Angeles teams with championship aspirations. Montrezl’s had stints with both franchises in Los Angeles, where most of his success came, after making his initial splash with Houston.
For someone who plays much larger what than his 6’7” and 240 pound frame suggests, Harrell is a relentless and above-the-rim finisher as an undersized center. He has the ability to take defenders off the dribble and can anchor a team’s defense as well.
Over the last few years though, Harrell has ranked as one the league’s leaders in second-chance opportunities and whether he starts or comes off the bench, he’s an energizer bunny who can quickly raise the intensity in meaningful games.
The Miami Heat could, likely, benefit from the services of Montrezl Harrell this offseason, but why would he leave the Los Angeles Lakers?
Last November, Harrell would leave the Clippers in free agency after an unforgettable second-round exit to the Denver Nuggets. Los Angeles held a 3-1 series lead over Denver, who came back to win in seven games, as they advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Harrell then signed a two-year deal to join the defending champion Lakers, for what would be yet another unsuccessful title run. In 69 appearances and one start with the Lakers, Harrell averaged 13.5 points per game, which was a short decline from what was seemingly a breakout year with the Clippers in 2019 (18.6).
However, a large part of this was due to the Lakers bolstering a power-rotation with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Along with Harrell, Los Angeles signed Marc Gasol in the 2020 offseason and eventually signed buyout candidate, Andre Drummond, after he cleared waivers in late March.
As Los Angeles dealt with several injuries across the roster, they finally began to hit their stride late in the year — with Harrell becoming the odd-man out of the rotation. He recorded two DNPs and played in less than 10 minutes a game in the Lakers’ first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.
It was clear that a surplus of big men in Los Angeles was an over-investment and Harrell can now either opt-in to run it back or locate a fresh start — preferably in another conference. The Miami Heat should rank high above those choices for Harrell.
The Miami Heat might bring back someone from last season, but if they choose to add another big to pair with Bam, here’s why ‘Trez’ isn’t a bad option.
Other than a max-level player, an offseason priority for the Heat is to find an active body that can compliment Adebayo in the front-court and Harrell completely fits the mold. With an extremely high motor, teams have struggled to limit Harrell’s activity from around the basket, as he’s literally made a career of doing the dirty work.
However, if we compare recent pairings with Bam, the one area that Harrell doesn’t posses is a floor-spacing ability. A career 5-for-60 from the three-point line (0-28 in the last three seasons), that may be something to think about.
In that light, many will find this as a legitimate complaint for a potential pairing between Harrell and Adebayo, especially if you also include the slashing abilities of Butler. Although, if Miami can add a legitimate playmaking point guard, as well as retaining Duncan Robinson, those spacing “issues” become minimal.
This even creates a greater incentive for Bam to further extend his range and become a more capable perimeter shooter. Nonetheless, the defensive impact of Harrell would outweigh any potential offensive struggles that he’d find in Miami.
He adds a nuance of weak-side help in drop coverage, with the length to protect the rim at all costs, giving Adebayo leeway to defend smaller players on the perimeter — which he’s been able to do at an elite level. And while Harrell isn’t the strongest presence on the defensive glass, he fairs well in a system like Miami’s, that is usually very reliant on rebounding as a team.
Regardless of where he’s headed next, the 2019-20 Sixth Man of The Year will be a huge pickup for any team that lands him. There’s winning qualities to his game and he can satisfy a team’s rebounding needs.
For the Heat, the 27 year old just might be what they need to solidify their front-court depth, but also and more importantly, to compete further into in the Eastern Conference. That’s how you, eventually, compete for the title.