Montrezl Harrell doesn’t sound happy about his role on the Lakers

Montrezl Harrell was none too pleased about his role on the Los Angeles Lakers under head coach Frank Vogel.

After winning the NBA championship last season, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to bolster their roster further by signing LA Clippers center and 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell last offseason. His regular season was relatively good, but he found himself benched in the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.

Harrell made his frustrations about his lack of playing time be known known while commenting on Instagram posts. When one individual hinted that it was due to matchup situations, Harrell explicitly stated that he believes that was not the case under head coach Frank Vogel.

Lakers: Montrezl Harrell expresses frustration with role on team in playoffs

“Match up situations are excuses lmao,” commented Harrell. “That s**t isn’t real.”

Harrell was not a starter throughout the regular season, as he started in just one of his 69 games played. Even so, Harrell’s play was strong, as he averaged 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 62.2 percent from the field. However, his average playing time did dip as compared to his previous two seasons with the Clippers.

After playing in Game 1 against the Suns, Harrell was benched for the following two games. Harrell did return for Games 4-6, but he only played a total of 25 minutes. In total, the center scored 23 points (8-for-14 from the field) and grabbed 10 rebounds in 39 minutes across four games.

These comments are intriguing, as Harrell has an important choice to make. After signing his contract with the Lakers last offseason, Harrell has a player option for the 2021-22 season. He can choose to either remain with the Lakers or explore his options in free agency. We should get his official answer on or prior to the July 31 deadline.