"I will knock you the f**k out"- Former 6MOTY recalls heated exchange with Paul George amid 'Bubble' collapse vs Denver
The 2019-20 LA Clippers, led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, are one of the most disappointing NBA teams in recent memory. The Clips returned to competition in the infamous bubble to try to challenge for the championship.
After beating Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Denver Nuggets.
During that series, Paul George and former Sixth Man of the Year award winner Montrezl Harrell got into it. In The Players' Tribune, the big man revealed that he threatened to 'knock out' George after the swingman failed to make a switch that resulted in Nikola Jokic scoring points.
After calling out George for not making the right play, Harrell recalls that the former Indiana Pacers player asked him: “Hey, who are you talking to?” This didn't sit well with Harrell.
"OK, time-out — I’m simple. Real motherf****r. That’s why a lot of people, I think, don’t like me. At the end of the day, everybody’s out here in between these lines because we’re trying to, one, feed our family, but, two, do some s**t for the team, for the organization, for the city. Real talk.
"I came back to the Bubble for this, after having to bury my grandma in the ground, bro. The person who raised me, the reason I play this game. I was so f****d up mentally, more than I even knew."
He went further and said:
"Alright, with that in mind…. I told P 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 admits that he went too far during that argument, but admits that he was going through grief. His reaction was to the bad moment he was having in his personal life.
Paul George, Montrezl Harrell and the Clippers were sent home by the Nuggets that season
The Clippers were considered real contenders during that season, but once they took a 3-1 lead over the Nuggets, things started to fall apart. They lost three consecutive games, joining an unflattering club in NBA history.
Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and company appeared to be uninterested in winning more games, collapsing in front of the Nuggets. They had no response against Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the rest of the team.
That Clippers team will go down as a big 'what-if' in NBA history.