Less Than A Week After Felony Marijuana Trafficking Charges Reduced To Misdemeanor, Montrezl Harrell Signs With 76ers

There's plenty to like about NBA center Montrezl Harrell's game. If not for a pesky drug trafficking charge, the player would have likely been snatched up from free agency by September.

Well, the wait to sign Harrell is finally over.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a two-year, $5.2 million deal with Harrell, announced Tuesday.

As relayed by OutKick's David Hookstead, Harrell reached a plea deal last week related to a drug trafficking case he encountered in May.

MONTREZL HARRELL, WHO’S AMASSED $35M IN NBA CONTRACTS, ARRESTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

On May 12, Harrell was stopped by a Kentucky state trooper traveling on the southbound I-75. Harrell was arrested for carrying three pounds of weed but later avoided any significant penalties (including up to five years in prison) due to the plea agreement.

Still seen as a viable big man in the modern NBA, his pending drug case seemingly determined Harrell's free-agency status.

After receiving news last week that the drug charges were reduced to a misdemeanor, Harrell reemerged as a top name in the market of available players.

The 6-foot-7 power forward was the 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Harrell averaged 11.4 points, two assists, and 4.9 rebounds a game this past season with the Charlotte Hornets.

Harrell re-teams with former Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who's still spearheading the 76ers team despite going through a year of speculation that Rivers would split from the team.

While the East's Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat stagger in making splash acquisitions this off-season, Philly has quietly been putting in work.

Adding Harrell to a strong Philly roster that features Joel Embiid at the five, and top-level guys like James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and the newly acquired PJ Tucker, the Sixers are positioning themselves as one of the more formidable teams in the East.