Markieff Morris Available; Should Cavs Pursue?
The Cleveland Cavaliers just signed Mo Williams and have rumors all over the place. Markieff Morris of the Phoenix Suns is reportedly available, should the Cavs pursue a trade for one of the Morris twins?
Hearing the Suns are trying to deal Markieff Morris, who has an affordable 8M/yr deal. He and Hornacek don't get along, plus Marcus is gone.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 6, 2015
As noted in that tweet, there are a ton of issues leading to the Suns shopping the other Morrii twin. Both are still looking at legal issues stemming from an off the court incident. Marcus was traded to the Detroit Pistons last week.
Markieef had a good year last year. He scored 15 points and pulled in 6 boards a game for the Suns. Maturity has always been a concern about both Morris twins but his production last year could make him worth a risk.
The question is whether the Cavs should take such a risk?
Many have pointed to Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and even LeBron James to say that the Cavs have too many power forwards as is. Based on the description next to their names, that might be true. However, only Love truly plays the 4 spot. Thompson and Varejao play center primarily and LBJ is the greatest small forward of all time. Morris could get minutes as the backup 4 while TT comes in at center.
Expecting much from Varejao is risky given his injury history.
Morris is due to start his 4 year contract extension this season, making $8 million a year. At 25 years old, with the rising cost of talent in the NBA, four years at $8 million is what decent backups are making. Morris could be a very good backup and a solid starter if needed. He has the ability to play with his back to the basket, rebound and has a developing outside shot. Morris would be a perfect backup to Love and give the Cavs an offensive minded big guy off the bench to pair with Thompson and Varejao.
Concerns about maturity would be addressed by the leadership of LeBron and others. If the Cavs could keep J.R. Smith in line for a season, Morris should be a piece of cake. He also would get to see his twin more often, in the same division and nearby in Detroit. Whether the Cavs are willing to take on a player with an assault charge hanging over his head, he and his brother have the same charges, is a different question.
For GM David Griffin and owner Dan Gilbert, Morris’ long term contract could be pause for concern. While he may be underpaid as early as this year, Morris would limit the Cavs ability to add other talent. He also would be more money tied up in the frontcourt.
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With teams aware the Suns are looking to unload Morris, a trade could be easy. The Cavs can give them cap relief in the form of Brendan Haywood‘s contract as well as future draft considerations, the T’Wolves 2nd Round pick could be helpful here. Other teams may have more assets to deal but few at this point have salary cap space to take on his salary without pushing salary back to the Suns.
Maybe just a dream scenario as Morris joins J.J. Redick as perhaps the most talented players that might be available for the Haywood contract. I personally love his fit and have called for another offensive big man all off-season. Signing Mo to return answers our backup PG need. We could still sign a Caron Butler or Tashaun Prince to fill our need for a wing player. Morris would be the final piece, and a young, talented one, to a very deep, very talented roster.
What do you think about Markieff Morris as a Cleveland Cavalier?