LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 15, 2020

Montrezl Harrell

Press Conference

Q. I've got a couple questions for you. I saw that you were reading a book of quotes. Would you mind sharing what was your favorite quote out of that book?

MONTREZL HARRELL: Probably just one I quoted, just about your decisions and choices, to basically let -- the outcome of the decisions you make in life really are everything you build, you don't have a choice. But some people in some instance don't have a choice and they've got to go about it and just make it happen the way that they make it happen.

Q. I guess a lot of people have been talking about the hotline and I wonder what your feelings are on having a hotline to report things and whether you would use it or kind of what your thoughts are on that thing.

MONTREZL HARRELL: Come on, now. Do you think I'm a player that has used the hotline? I haven't used the hotline, honestly. To each his own, man. Whatever people try to do, it's up to them. Like the quote I just said, everything that you do is truly up to you, it's your choice and your decision that you make. I've been chilling, I've been enjoying my teammates. We've been fishing; me, PJ and Reggie been getting out there, so we've been finding ways to stay sane and just basically build our team camaraderie and just grow together as a team.

Q. Your teammates said the most interesting thing that guys brought to Orlando was what you brought: The portable sauna. I was wondering what the thinking was behind that; how do you use it? And the second question is you guys were playing so great before the hiatus. How do you think the hiatus has affected your championship run?

MONTREZL HARRELL: To answer the first question, I use it basically just detoxing and cleansing out the body, getting a real good sweat in on the off days that we're not really doing anything and getting out there on the court. I also have the training mask that kind of boosts your elevation and breathing capacity, kind of makes it like you're playing in Denver a lot, so I kind of use that with my sauna. It goes hand in hand, just kind of putting my body through different conditions that I'm not normally used to and being able to overcome them and withstand them.

As far as the second question, I think it basically improved our chances. We got guys who were able to get the rest of that needed, was able to rehab their body and get back into a tremendous recovery stage that they weren't able to withstand with the guys that we will have and then the way it was going and traveling and things like that. With having this time off, I think guys are 100 percent healthy and guys are ready to just get back out there and get going, really.

Q. Obviously your rhythm with Lou has been talked about so often, and in the past off-seasons you guys get to go to runs together in Atlanta and whatnot. What's it been like getting that rhythm back during a time when you haven't been able to play with him?

MONTREZL HARRELL: Actually I don't think it's something that we've lost. That's something that we've built up over time and the chemistry that we have with one another is something that we kind of gelled and grew with over years. I really don't think that's something that you can lose just over a couple of months' time period. Especially when before we actually came back out here, we was able to kind of solidify our own little space to still get out there with one another, guys who were still testing negative throughout the testing process, so I think we still was able to get back out there, still hoop and get out there and get active, so I don't think we really lost anything, honestly.

Q. I'm curious, one of the things that sort of the bubble provides for people is a lot of free time and a lot of time to yourself. What do you hope to get out of that time? Is there anything -- we've seen some guys are making music, other guys are making movies, documentaries. What are you trying to do with that time?

MONTREZL HARRELL: Me myself, I'm just going to continue to work on my brand and my clothing line. I've had a lot of free time with this whole thing that's happened in the world and crisis that we have to really adjust to. I was able to go and be with my family and just enjoy that time, but really just sticking to my brand. I've got two clothing lines that I'm real passionate about, my Underdog clothing brand and the new brand that I'm pushing in outerwear. It's a higher tier fashion, more men's clothing, but working with jeans, jackets, just all different type of stuff. And I was able to link with Brandon Jennings who was a guy who was in the NBA but who's crossed over and just taken his brand to a whole completely different level in the fashion world, and that's what he's really passionate about and what he's actually doing. That's what I'm real big into, and I think with linking with him and the mindset that he has and where he's brought his brand from from the start of Tuff Crowd to where it is now, I think I'm going to have some great insight, and definitely I'm ready and looking forward to diving more into that.

Q. We've heard a couple people refer to the bubble as kind of like a big AAU tournament, and I'm curious, how would you describe the vibe in there, and if it's like that, how so?

MONTREZL HARRELL: I think more so because the surroundings and every guy who's been through this basketball process has somewhat played on the AAU circuit or knows about it, and everybody knows that the showcase and the nationals were done here. I think for the AAU feel, I think guys are kind of more so looking towards getting into game forms and not having fans and stuff in there. Those are things that you have to kind of go through and endure the process of playing AAU and coming up starting in the programs and just trying to build your name, so you have those times where you're in gyms when guys don't have that many fans there, hardly no coaches, so you've just got to bring your own energy in order to play and still will your team to win, so I think that's more so what guys are speaking toward when they say AAU games and things like that.