Clippers to lose Montrezl Harrell, retain Patrick Patterson as free agency begins

The Clippers’ historically productive bench won’t be the same.

A few hours into NBA free agency on Friday, reports came that Montrezl Harrell, last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, reportedly agreed to a two-year, $19 million deal with the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Then, at nearly 11 p.m. PT, the next blow: reserve forward JaMychal Green reportedly agreed to a two-year $15 million deal with the Denver Nuggets, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Green – who on Thursday opted out of the second year of his deal with L.A., which would have been worth $5 million – will join a Nuggets that eliminated the Clippers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs this season, storming back from a 3-1 series deficit.

On Friday, Denver learned that it’s losing free agent forward Jerami Grant, who reportedly agreed to a $60 million deal and a larger role in Detroit. Green, 30, can help fill that void. A versatile big who can defend multiple positions and has proved capable of stretching the floor, Green shot 47.8 percent (22 for 46) from 3-point range in his 19 postseason games with the team.

Harrell, the 26-year-old center/forward who came into his own as a Clipper, was due a raise after proving durable and productive off the bench while on his team-friendly, two-year, $12 million deal these past two years.

Together, guard Lou Williams and Harrell this past season were the first duo in NBA history to average 17-plus points per game off the bench. The previous season, the pair combined to record the highest combined scoring average of any reserve duo in NBA history – 36.9 points per game – according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Harrell, a high-energy if undersized post player at 6-foot-8, caught flack from Clippers fans when he didn’t perform well in the Orlando “bubble” after missing a month mourning the death of his grandmother, but before then he missed only one regular-season game in two seasons prior to the coronavirus hiatus.

His numbers this season (18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 blocked shots per game) earned him recognition as the league’s top reserve.

Besides Harrell’s deal, the Clippers agreed to terms with hard-nosed forward Marcus Morris and veteran reserve Patrick Patterson.

Guard Reggie Jackson remains a free agent.

As first reported by ESPN and confirmed by a league source, Patterson, 31, will sign a one-year deal to return to the team for which he proved a steady presence despite a wildly fluctuating role last season, his first with the team.

The 6-8 power forward started 18 of 59 games but played fewer than five minutes in 12 games and not at all in 13 others. Throughout, the Kentucky product averaged 4.9 points and shot 40.8 percent from the floor and 39 percent from 3-point range on almost three attempts from beyond the arc per game. In the playoffs, he appeared in only two games for a total of 10 minutes.

A noted movie buff who has some interest in exploring the entertainment industry, Patterson likely will receive a veteran’s minimum, as suggested by ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That would be about $2.6 million.

Harrell posted video on Instagram of a flight into LAX early Friday afternoon, teasing a meeting in Los Angeles – seemingly with the Lakers. He started the day by tweeting, “Today will be really interesting!”

On Friday evening, Clippers guard Patrick Beverley – who also teamed with Harrell in Houston before they were part of a trade package, along with Williams, to the Clippers in 2017 – shared his reaction on social media, first seeming to express shock through emojis before directing a tweet to Harrell: “love u kid. happy for u gang. U already know what it is.”

The Clippers’ other free agents also took to social media to drop clues during the day.

Morris tweeted out eyeball emojis as free agency opened at 3 p.m., either to hint at forthcoming news or simply to toy with the NBA fans glued to the site for free agency news.

And Green posted on Instagram early Friday. His social media signaling amounted to emojis of praying hands and crossed fingers.

Without Harrell and Green on the team, the Clippers will have to decide how they want to handle backup center duties behind starter Ivica Zubac. They could sign a free agent; those still available on the market late Friday night included Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Tristan Thompson and Aron Baynes. Or they could turn to second-year center Mfiondu Kabengele or rookie Daniel Oturu.

Prior to free agency, the Clippers got to work at improving the team around All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George during the draft on Wednesday night. They used a complex, three-team trade to acquire fourth-year shooting guard Luke Kennard from Detroit while sending Landry Shamet to Brooklyn and Rodney McGruder to Detroit.

“Luke is a young, ascending player who has worked hard to establish himself as a reliable shooter and playmaker,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a news release Thursday. “We’ve admired him from afar for quite a while and are excited to have him.”

In addition to Kennard, the Clippers got back Pistons center Justin Patton in the deal on a non-guaranteed contract, the draft rights to Jay Scrubb (the Nets’ 55th overall pick) and four second-round draft picks (2023 via Portland, and 2024, 2025 and 2026 via Detroit).

Additionally, the Clippers traded Wednesday for Oturu, a 6-10 center from Minnesota and the New York Knicks’ 33rd pick, in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick.