Montrezl Harrell being placed on trade block by Wizards should come as no surprise

Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard strategically reshaped the team’s roster when he landed the trio of Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell from the Los Angeles Lakers for Russell Westbrook. 

Wizards fans didn’t waste time accepting Harrell. His worker’s mentality, hustle and vocal leadership has helped lift the Wizards into playoff contention with a 23-21 record. 

Sheppard looks to tweak the roster to improve the Wizards ahead of next month’s trade deadline. Now the Wizards have reportedly made the 6-foot-7 center Harrell available in trade talks, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

It should come as no surprise Harrell is available for a trade. Despite his emergence with the Wizards and popularity with the fans, Harrell has an expiring contract. 

The Wizards acquired Harrell with two hard-pressed options for the Louisville product. Sign him to a contract extension or ultimately trade him before the Feb. 10 deadline. Otherwise, risk Harrell walking away in free agency.

Harrell is in the final year of a two-year, $18.98 million deal he signed in 2020 with the Lakers. The 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year has reset his market for the better this season. He’s averaged 14.6 points per game while shooting a career-best 65.3% from the field through 37 games. He is also averaging a career-high 7.3 rebounds.

The Wizards already have committed to a three-year, $40.2 million extension to center Daniel Gafford. While Gafford’s extension doesn’t kick in until the 2023-24 season, Sheppard wants to maintain salary cap flexibility long-term.

The Wizards also have Thomas Bryant at center, who returned to the court last week following his partially torn ACL from January 2020. Bryant also has an expiring contract. While Bryant can be an option to move in a trade as well, Harrell is sure to have more value.

Thus the only natural move is to include Harrell and his $9.7 million expiring salary. Harrell’s name has come up in the Wizards’ pursuit of Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant, the son of former Washington Bullet Harvey Grant.

Honestly, if the Wizards were to pick between Bryant and Harrell to extend, the obvious choice is Bryant. He brings a dynamic of stretching the defense with his shooting range. Bryant is also expected to be the cheaper option in comparison to Harrell. 

But, the Wizards’ strategy should be independent of the two situations. Harrell will help bring back a higher-caliber exchange whether the return is Grant or someone else.

Sheppard’s vision goes beyond appeasing fans with a role player. Even if right now the DNA of this year’s Wizards team is grit which fits Harrell. Sheppard’s goal is to build a roster complement of his star Bradley Beal, who Sheppard is trying to convince to sign a contract extension of his own.

Harrell is arguably one of the Wizards’ biggest available assets in the trade market. Him along with 2019 and 2020 first-round draft picks Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija and possibly future draft picks.

It may be a tough pill to swallow for some Wizards fans, but Harrell being available in trade talks makes a lot of sense.