Ex-Clippers player admits he threatened to knock out Paul George

Jan 22, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; LA Clippers guard Paul George (13) brings the ball up court against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

A former Los Angeles Clippers player revealed in a story this week that he threatened to knock out Paul George when the two were teammates.

Montrezl Harrell published a feature for The Players Tribune on Wednesday in which he opened up about himself, his path to the NBA and told his story.

During the feature, Harrell vented that he never should have returned to the NBA “Bubble” in Orlando to finish out the 2019-2020 season amid COVID restrictions. His Clippers blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs that season.

In his piece for The Players Tribune, Harrell shared an anecdote to illustrate how he wasn’t in the right mindset during that time because his grandmother had died. The anecdote also called out George for not knowing the Clippers’ defensive assignments, which led Harrell to threaten to knock out George.

“I told [Paul George] right then and there, in front of coaches and everybody, ‘I will knock you the f–k out, bro. You’re trippin’. You was wrong, bro. You’re WRONG,'” Harrell wrote (profanity censored by LBS).

Harrell claimed that George didn’t switch on a pick-and-roll the way he was supposed to. Harrell called out George for being the only player who didn’t know what to do.

“Everybody in this s–t knows the coverage but you,” Harrell recalls telling George.

Harrell says the Clippers told him after the season they wouldn’t be bringing him back.

Harrell has been in the league since 2015 and played for six different teams. He spent last season recovering from a torn ACL.

George meanwhile has left the Clippers to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. The Clippers never realized the potential many envisioned for them when George and Kawhi Leonard decided to sign with the team in the summer of 2019.