A month after the Phoenix Suns traded Marcus Morris to the Detroit Pistons, it appears twin brother Markieff Morris wants out as well. This news surprises very few people as the Morris twins were known as "inseparable" around the league.
Last week, during Marcus Morris' twitter rant, which included him referring to the Suns as "clowns" and calling Suns fans "bandwagoners," also included him hinting at a Markieff Morris departure. A fan who tweeted to Marcus saying Markieff "was the only one" the Suns wanted got a reply from Marcus saying, "He won't be there for long." Many took this lightly as Marcus was just tweeting out of frustration at that point, apparently not.
"Everybody knew how bad I wanted to play with my brother," Marcus Morris said on July 11, via ESPN.com. "Phoenix knew. For them to trade me without consent or telling or anything like that was kind of like a, I would say slap in the face..."
Perhaps Marcus Morris' displeasure with Phoenix rubbed off on Markieff, or maybe Markieff already had his mind made up after his brother was dealt. Bottom line is, now he wants out.
Markieff Morris, 25, was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft. He became the full-time starting power forward for Phoenix last season, and had his starting spot still intact for this upcoming season. The Suns inked him to a four-year, $32 million contract extension last offseason. And now they are here.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports Radio says that Markieff Morris refuses to speak with any Suns staff or players. If true, this looks really bad on Morris' end. Sure, playing with your brother is fun and all, but at the end of the day, this is a business, and it is Markieff Morris' job to play basketball.
The fact that Markieff Morris is requesting a trade due to his brother being traded diminishes his trade value around the league. Why would a team want to give up anything valuable for somebody who seems to only be able to function with his brother?
The Phoenix Suns did the Morris twins a favor in 2012 when Marcus was playing for Houston and Markieff was in Phoenix, the first time in their entire lives playing on different basketball teams, Phoenix traded for Marcus. They then signed the twins to four-year extensions last season. They gave them every chance to play with each other.
The Morris twins then became headaches on and off the court, both being top five in technical fouls last season, and both currently undergoing trial for a felony assault case. Marcus engaging in a shouting match with head coach Jeff Hornacek last season. Markieff Morris blaming the lack of fan support as to why the Suns lost by 27 points at home, and now showcasing immaturity at the highest level between Marcus' tweets and Markieff refusing to communicate with the Suns.
Nonetheless, talent wins basketball games, and Markieff Morris has that. He is talented. He had a career-year across the board last season, averaging 15 points and six rebounds on nearly 47 percent shooting from the field. He is arguably Phoenix's third best player behind Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. He is on an amazing contract ($8 million per year over the next four years). He is one of Phoenix's most prized assets, and if the Suns did end up trading him, it would put a dent in their playoff chances for this upcoming season.
If Markieff Morris is dealt, that would leave a whopping ONE player who was on the team two seasons ago and would still be on the team. P.J. Tucker would be the only man left from the 2012-2013 roster. Crazy.
It should be interesting to see what the Phoenix Suns decide to do with Markieff who has close to no leverage in this situation. He is still signed for four more years, and he is the Suns' only starting caliber power forward. They are in no rush to trade him, and it would not be surprising if they ended up keeping him.