Things didn’t quite go as planned for the Los Angeles Clippers this season. Despite boasting an embarrassment of talent on their roster, they fell short in the second round in Orlando to a scrappy and talented Nuggets squad that managed to overcome a 3-1 series deficit and topple a team that had their sights set on a title.
It was a brutal series that pointed to what could be a larger overarching issue about team chemistry or the lack thereof. That’s something Montrezl Harrell was already aware of long beforehand. Back in January, Harrell criticized his teammates for lack of cohesion after an ugly loss and called the locker room “problematic,” which drew an angry reaction from Doc Rivers.
Now, it appears Harrell has decided to cut his ties with Clippers altogether, opting instead to join forces with their locker-room rivals. It’s an outcome that left at least one teammate in disbelief, as fiery point guard Patrick Beverley reacted with an angry emoji on Twitter.
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) November 21, 2020
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a teammate has left to join a rival in free agency, and if the Boston Celtics are any indication, it could ignite a feud that could last for the next decade or longer, although probably to a lesser degree than the Rondo-Ray-Allen-Garnett debacle. But Pat Bev has never been one to take things in stride, so every Lakers-Clippers game next season will surely be must-see television.
Beverley, for his part, did his best to downplay it later, in a response to one of the many memes that has already surfaced in the wake of Harrell’s decision.
Frfr happy for him tho https://t.co/8JnvRHJGVd
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) November 21, 2020
So, who knows. Maybe he’s already cycled through the five stages of grief and has arrived at acceptance. I probably wouldn’t hold my breath, though.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/patrick-beverley-montrezl-harrell-lakers-free-agency-reaction/