Being potentially liable to prison is never ideal when you are a free agent, and this is precisely the situation that an ex-Laker has known all summer. He has just received a major update on his sentence… and he will be able to sigh with relief.
Free agent this summer after a season shared between the Wizards and the Hornets, Montrezl Harrell had something to interest some teams. If his stats have dropped for two years, he is still a former Sixth Man of the Year capable of bringing around fifteen points per game off the bench, if he is put in the right conditions. However, if it has not found a buyer since the beginning of July, it is because it is entangled in a dark legal affair.
Last May, when he was already on vacation after Charlotte was eliminated from the Play-In, the former Lakers player had thus been arrested on the side of Kentucky, having played in the university of Louisville which is in this American state. In question, a backpack filled with more than a kilo of vacuum-packed marijuana found in his car… Enough for him to be initially accused of drug trafficking by the local County.
Montrezl Harrell not guilty of drug trafficking
However, if he had been found guilty of this, the energizer would have received a prison sentence ranging from one to five years, which would have seriously compromised his future on the floors of the big league. Fortunately, we will not get there according to Adrian Wojnarowski, who released some news on the case. The famous insider explains that the charges have been lowered, while specifying the consequences of the verdict on his status as a player:
Free agent forward Montrezl Harrell had felony charges of marijuana trafficking reduced to a misdemeanor possession in a Madison County (KY) Courthouse today. Charge will be expunged from his record after 12 months if Harrell gets in no further legal trouble.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2022
Free agent Montrezl Harrell had marijuana trafficking charges reduced to a misdemeanor possession charge in a Madison County, Ky., court today. The charges will be expunged from his record after 12 months if Harrell is in no further legal trouble.
The change in Harrell’s legal status should start to clarify where he lands in free agency for the 2022-2023 season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2022
Harrell’s change in legal status should begin to clarify where he lands in free agency for the 2022-23 season.
Clearly, the interior will now have to be squared, and not only in order to avoid going through the prison box anyway. Indeed, such a case never looks good on an athlete’s CV, and that’s why the leaders stayed away from his file this summer. If he wants to find a buyer, he will therefore have to prove to them too that this is only ancient history.
Montrezl Harrell is doing quite well after being arrested with an impressive amount of marijuana, and will therefore be able to concentrate fully on the coming season again. It remains to be seen whether he will be under contract when it starts in the fall.