February 10, 2022 – Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak announced today that the team has acquired center Montrezl Harrell from the Washington Wizards in exchange for center Vernon Carey Jr., guard Ish Smith and the Boston Celtics’ 2023 second-round pick, which is top-45 protected.
In his seventh NBA season, Harrell is averaging 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 46 games, including three starts, for the Washington Wizards. The Tarboro, NC, native ranks fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage (64.5%) this season and is averaging 9.8 points in the paint per game, which ranks first among NBA reserves (25th overall). In his 43 appearances off the bench this season, Harrell is averaging 13.7 points per game, which is good for the sixth-highest scoring average among NBA reserves.
The 2019-20 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Harrell holds career averages of 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.6 minutes per game in 433 total games with the Rockets (2015-17), Clippers (2017-20), Lakers (2020-21) and Wizards (2021-22). He currently ranks fourth in NBA history in career field goal percentage (61.9%) and has finished in the top ten league-wide in field goal percentage in each of the last four seasons. The University of Louisville product was selected 32nd overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Carey appeared in 23 career games for the Hornets over the course of two seasons, averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game after being selected 32nd overall in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Duke University.
Smith appeared in 37 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 4.5 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game after signing with Charlotte as a free agent on Aug. 7, 2021. For his career, the North Carolina native and Wake Forest product holds career averages of 7.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game over 691 appearances (167 starts) with Houston, Memphis, Golden State, Orlando, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Detroit, Washington and Charlotte.