Montrezl Harrell hasn't been in the NBA since 2023. Once the darling child of the NBA, Harrell fell pretty swiftly in the 2020s, but now he's trying to work his way back into the league, albeit through baby steps. Here's to hoping he can, but it is amazing to think of the indirect imprint Harrell left on the Boston Celtics, because so much could have turned out differently for Boston if it weren't for him.
What am I talking about? Let's take it back to 2020. The pandemic was still very much in effect across the globe, and the NBA was trying to work around it. They managed to finish the season in the bubble, but because both the league and its players wanted to get as much compensation for the 2020-21 season, they had to rush the offseason.
That means players didn't have as long to make their decisions. Harrell was among the premier free agents, despite not exactly holding his end as much as many had thought for the Clippers. His value was still high enough for a team to offer him good money, and one team that fit that description was Charlotte.
When Harrell decided to join the Lakers, it was revealed that he turned down the Hornets' more lucrative offer to stay in LA, per The LA Times' Brad Turner, even though he was joining the Clippers' crosstown rival.
Sources: The Lakers and free agent center Montrezl Harrell are in negotiations for the NBA sixth man of the year to join them. Harrell turned down more money from Charlotte to join the Lakers.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) November 21, 2020
Besides being an all-time bag fumble knowing what was to come from Trezz, this changed the Celtics' direction because who did the Hornets sign instead? Gordon Hayward.
Hayward was right in the middle of a dispute with Boston because, while Indiana wanted Hayward, their hometown hero, they didn't have the cap space, and the Celtics weren't going to give him up easily (in fact, their preference was to keep him). Just as it seemed as though Boston and Indiana were going to embark on an intense staring contest, Hayward joined the Hornets.
We must remember that a) Charlotte had to waive and stretch Nicolas Batum to make this happen, and b) Boston managed to get the biggest TPE in NBA history at the time by agreeing to sign-and-trade Hayward (more on this later).
And none of this would have happened if Harrell had taken Charlotte's money first.
So much would have changed if Harrell chose Charlotte
So if Harrell had taken the money (another example of when betting on yourself backfires big time), where would that have left the Celtics and Hayward? Would he have stayed? Would the Pacers have caved and given the Celtics what they demanded for Hayward?
Also, no matter how that shakes out, no Hayward TPE means no Josh Richardson, which means no Derrick White. Would Boston have won a title earlier with Hayward instead? Would they have won more? His problem as a Celtic was simply not being able to stay healthy, but they were hard to beat when he played.
So much changes in the 2020s for Boston if Harrell picks the Hornets. The massive chain reaction it caused very much factored into the Celtics' success six years later.
What makes this even funnier is that Boston wanted Harrell in 2022 as part of their "Stay Ready" group, but he chose Philadelphia instead, believing the 76ers would give him a bigger role. Fair enough, as that's what happens with bag fumbles. Boston settled for Blake Griffin instead, and it's fair to say that they were pretty happy about that.
It's amazing to think that Harrell, someone who hasn't played in the NBA in three years, was a deciding factor in how so much turned out for Boston this decade.
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