Philadelphia 76ers’ Montrezl Harrell suffers ACL and meniscus tear. How long will he be out?
The 76ers have been dealt a major blow even before the start of the 2023-24 NBA regular season. How they will cope with it remains to be seen.
With their center having suffered a serious injury during the offseason, the team is now faced with the daunting task of either replacing their center or at the very least finding suitable cover for the position in his absence.
76ers lose Montrezl Harrell to a severe knee injury
According to recent reports, Philadelphia 76ers center Montrezl Harrell has torn his ACL and his meniscus during off-season workouts this summer and will now be out indefinitely. Interestingly, Harrell received an MRI last week to evaluate recent swelling in his right knee, only to discover that the problem was much more serious than first believed. As things stand, there is still no clear timeline on how long it will take him to recover from what is quite possibly an injury that could end his season before it begins. There has been no indication as to how Harrell injured his knee.
Who is Motrezl Harrell?
Truth be told, the big man has been somewhat of a journeyman in the league, having been signed by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and then traded to the Washington Wizards where he spent more or less half of the season before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets. Between the Wizards and the Hornets Harrell actually put up credible numbers in the 71 combined games that he played. Indeed, with an average of 13.1 points per game, it would be fair to say he’s a decent forward by NBA standards. This of course brings us to the 76ers with whom Harrell signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal just last month.
To be clear, Harrell featured for Philly last season, but his career-low 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds off the bench were nothing to write home about. At 29 years old, this is a major setback for a player who appeared to be coming into his own as a rotational contributor. As for the Sixers themselves, they will likely still be feeling a little sore following their defeat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, after being a team that was largely tipped to take the title. Since then former head coach Doc Rivers was fired and replaced by former Raptors coach Nick Nurse and former league MVP James Harden requested a trade. This is all to say that things aren’t exactly great in Philly at the moment. Needless to say, Harrell’s injury only compounds that fact.