Montrezl Harrell seemed like a good fit for the Boston Celtics on paper this offseason.
With Robert Williams set to undergo knee surgery, the Celtics needed frontcourt depth behind the 36-year-old Al Horford, and Harrell represented a proven veteran option with career averages of 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over seven NBA seasons.
In fact, Harrell told MassLive.com's Brian Robb he had free-agent discussions with the Celtics this offseason before signing with rival Philadelphia 76ers in mid-September. But his explanation for why he chose Philly over Boston may make C's fans relieved that he's not wearing Celtics green.
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"Honestly, it didn’t work out," Harrell told Robb. "We did have conversations but their mindset, where they wanted me to play or how they wanted me to play was not ideal. The situation I’m basically in or was going to be in, it wasn’t going to work out."
According to Harrell, it sounds like the Celtics wanted him to take a smaller role than he was willing to accept.
"The role they wanted me to be in wasn’t going to benefit me, but just their situation," Harrell said. "At the same time, it’s got to be a give and take but you have to give something.
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“It wasn’t really going to help me. I mean, I’m definitely for the team and organization, but at the same time, if you are telling the player before the season even started they aren’t going to be playing games, that’s tough to say. That’s not going to work. I can’t do nothing with that. That’s how it went."
Harrell is entitled to his own decision, and he'll still get the chance to contend on a strong Sixers squad. But it's hard not to juxtapose Harrell's mindset with that of Malcolm Brogdon, who eagerly accepted a sixth man role with the Celtics -- despite starting every game in the previous three seasons -- because he knew it gave Boston the best chance to win games.
After falling just short of an NBA title in 2022, the Celtics appear to have a singular, unselfish focus on winning, regardless of how minutes get divvied up. Harrell's comments suggest he wasn't on board with that plan, so Brad Stevens and Co. were probably wise to let him sign elsewhere.