Montrezl Harrell has left the Clippers to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Harrell was a very important figure for the Clippers last season, becoming a great player off the bench, earning the Sixth Man of the Year award during the bubble. Harrell has now joined their archrivals and the Clippers nation is anything but happy.
Even fans from other teams and analysts are shocked by the news and some have found somebody to blame for this situation. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN recently went off against Kawhi Leonard, the biggest star of the Clippers, for all the things he demanded from the team and his inability to deliver (1:30 mark).
“He essentially blackmailed the Clippers,” Smith said. “That’s why they gave up all they gave up, to get Paul George. Because they knew that’s what it was gonna take to get him. You put a franchise through that, you owe them more than 25, 26 (points) a game.”
Smith also added that the pressure is bigger for Kawhi now. He has demanded and the Clippers have delivered; now it’s time for Leonard to do the same and bring a championship to Los Angeles.
“You got to exhaust everything inside your soul to make sure you do everything humanly possible to deliver a chip, because of your greatness as a player. But (the Clippers) did all of that because you asked for it. You gotta step up if you Kawhi Leonard.”
Following their disappointing elimination against the Denver Nuggets, the Clips are under big pressure now. Tyronn Lue is their new head coach, they are looking to sign a playmaker this offseason trying to dethrone the Lakers. Kawhi has a lot of work to do and everybody rooting for the Clippers expect him to do a good job this upcoming campaign.
