Montrezl Harrell isn’t interested in sugarcoating what went down with the Clippers, and he’s even less interested in giving Paul George a pass.
In a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the former NBA big man revisited his exit from Los Angeles after the 2020 bubble and made it clear he still sees that whole situation as more complicated than a simple chemistry issue. Harrell argued that the shutdown and the long break in play made it hard for any team to stay in rhythm.
“What chemistry could you have when we were playing basketball and had to stop playing for a month? People had to stay in their house.
We couldn’t go in the gym or be around each other. Who wouldn’t lose chemistry or cohesion after all that took place?
That makes zero sense.”
He also pushed back on the idea that the Clippers were supposed to arrive and win immediately, pointing to other star-laden teams that needed time to figure things out.
“If they were looking at it like, ‘They’re coming on, and in their first year they’re supposed to win it all,’ that makes zero sense. You’ve seen teams with LeBron, Bosh, and Wade that didn’t win in their first year together. That’s not realistic.”
Harrell said the bubble was heavier than basketball for him and for others around the team. He said he lost his grandmother, missed all five or seven of the warm-up games before the playoffs, and came back without the kind of rhythm or mental space he needed.
“A lot of stuff transpired in that bubble. People ended up losing loved ones-I lost my grandmother. Little do people know, those warm-up games that guys played before the playoffs started- I missed all five or seven of those games.”
“I came right back for the playoff games against Dallas and Denver. I had zero rhythm.
Mentally I wasn’t there-I lost my grandmother, and basketball wasn’t the first thing on my mind. The coaching staff and GM were hitting me up so much to come back, and I wanted to make the right decision for my team and not leave them hanging, but a lot went into it.”
He added that he wasn’t the only one carrying something personal at the time.
“I wasn’t the only person dealing with something like that. Pat lost a long-term mentor; Lou Will lost a mentor-multiple things took place. It wasn’t guys just going out partying; a lot transpired during that time,” Harrell said.
The most pointed part of the conversation came when Robinson brought up Paul George’s criticism during the bubble. Harrell didn’t dance around it. He made it clear the two are still not in a good place.
“I don’t make comments about that boy. Me and that boy don’t see eye-to-eye, and we ain’t on no terms, so I don’t make comments about him. Quite frankly, I don’t care,” Harrell said.
He then tied that tension directly to what happened with the Clippers after the 2019-20 season.
“I stated that in the tribute interview I did as well, regarding how me and him got into it in that bubble situation. I feel like that had a strong trajectory on why the Clippers didn’t sign me back the following year, so I don’t make comments on him.”
The history there is already public: during the Clippers’ playoff loss to the Nuggets in 2020, Harrell and George got into a heated exchange over defensive coverage, and Harrell threatened to “knock out” George. Harrell’s comments years later suggest he still believes that clash mattered when the Clippers made their decision.
Harrell also had strong words for Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, who have used their platforms in WNBA-related protests that have been described by several people as a publicity stunt tied to the league’s liberal eligibility rules.
“I don’t entertain that, to be honest with you. That stuff is corny and lame.
I’m an actual WNBA fan. I’ve been to most of their games and went to Game 1 when the Aces made their back-to-back run.
I was down there on the floor conversing with the MVP, All-Stars, and the MVPs of the league,” Montrezl Harrell said.
He said their approach disrespects the league and misses the point entirely.
“For guys like that to use their platform to disrespect it, that’s corny. I’m not a fan of it at all.
You don’t gain any cool points off of it. You’re two grown men running into arenas and public spaces, making a mockery of yourselves.
Who is that helping? I’m never going to say I understand what you’re doing, because what you’re doing is corny.”
Harrell also called out the way the message is being delivered, saying men should speak directly instead of taking shots at women.
“I know what you’re trying to say about men not playing with women, but just use your words as a grown man. Don’t try to berate women.
Even when Enes Kanter got into it with Natasha Cloud, that was corny. You don’t gain cool points off that.”
He finished by saying he wants no part of that kind of activism if it comes packaged as a stunt.
“I’m not a fan of it and wish it were something they wouldn’t do, because it’s not highlighting the message they claim to have about protecting women’s sports. I’m just not a fan of their overall stuff,” Harrell concluded.
At 32, Harrell’s comments leave no doubt about where he stands: the Clippers split still stings, and he has no patience for the way he sees Kanter Freedom and White handling the WNBA issue.
In Other News...
Clippers Face Huge Pressure As Their Next Moves Shape Playoff Hopes
The Clippers are still working through the fallout from their cap-circumvention penalties, but the basketball side has already moved into the next phase. General manager Trent Redden is running operations, the roster has been reshaped, and the club has added Brandon Ingram in a delayed blockbuster trade while trying to keep its playoff hopes alive after losing Kawhi Leonard and several draft picks.
What makes the next stretch so tricky is that the front office picture still is not fully settled. The team is trying to determine its interim governor while also continuing to explore roster moves, leaving the basketball staff to balance the urgency of winning now with a situation that is still changing above them. For a team that just made a major swing to stay competitive, the pressure to get the next decisions right is only growing. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors May Not Be Done After Kawhi Leonard Blockbuster
The Kawhi Leonard deal finally became official for Toronto after an NBA investigation into the Clippers salary cap practices delayed the blockbuster, but the paperwork only seemed to open the door to more questions about what the Raptors might do next. Around the league, there is already chatter that Toronto could keep pushing for another major move rather than treating Leonard as the end of the process.
What comes next has become the more intriguing part of the story, especially with the Raptors front office expected to keep evaluating the roster as the season unfolds. Any additional swing would likely depend on how the team performs and how management chooses to approach the market, leaving plenty of room for speculation but no certainty about when, or if, another headline follows. [Read more 🡒]
Yuki Kawamura Faces A Tough Clippers Camp Battle For His Shot
Yuki Kawamuras first stop with the Clippers is a familiar one for a fringe roster hopeful: training camp, where every drill and preseason minute can matter. The guard signed a one-year, non-guaranteed Exhibit-10 deal, which gives him a chance to compete for a place in Los Angeles while also keeping the door open for a longer look if he can make enough noise early.
The challenge is obvious. The Clippers are deep enough that a standard roster spot looks out of reach, so Kawamuras clearest path is to impress enough in camp and preseason to carve out a two-way role. He will be battling players already in the mix for those opportunities, and if he is going to stick, he likely has to force the team to make a hard decision about who belongs in that final developmental spot. [Read more 🡒]