Best Potential Trade Packages and Destinations for Phoenix Suns' Markieff Morris
Markieff Morris and the Phoenix Suns are at a crossroads, and it looks more and more like they'll opt to travel in completely different directions.
Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post is "hearing" that the Suns are looking to deal the power forward because he apparently doesn't get along with head coach Jeff Hornacek. That the team just sent his brother, Marcus, to the Detroit Pistons cannot be helping matters either.
Auctioning off the more expensive Morris twin is bound to be a tricky process. Morris is productive but not a star. He is recognized as a stretch 4, but has never even shot 35 percent from behind the arc.
Complicated still, he, along with his brother, is facing "felony aggravated assault" charges, according to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. Interested suitors will undoubtedly take his legal baggage into account as they concoct trade proposals.
It's not even entirely clear what the Suns are looking for in return. They don't project as a Western Conference playoff team, so by that measure, they're rebuilding. But they have more than $125 million committed to their backcourt of Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight over the next half-decade and just inked a 32-year-old Tyson Chandler to a four-year deal.
Put in that context, they're trying to compete now. It's all a little confusing.
Not that this state of flux is a bad thing. It means the Suns can chart any course they please during trade negotiations. They have more than $8 million in cap space and can absorb bigger deals, or they could go the big-picture route and look for prospects who will pay dividends later.
Either way, it appears Morris will be on the move. So let's be a collective dear and help expedite the process.
Chicago Bulls
1 of 5
Phoenix Suns Get: PF Taj Gibson and G Kirk Hinrich
Chicago Bulls Get: PF Markieff Morris and 2016 second-round pick
Bring on the Fred Hoiberg era in Chicago.
Gibson's value won't be maximized in the Bulls' new my-name-is-floor-spacing offense. He doesn't shoot three-pointers, just turned 30 and is recovering from left ankle surgery, the latter of which doesn't bode well for his ability to get up and down the floor as Chicago pushes the pace.
Grantland's Zach Lowe pegged Gibson as the Bulls' frontcourt member most likely to be dealt following the team's postseason exodus. Sheridan Hoops' Joe Kotoch took it one step further ahead of the draft, positing that Chicago was looking to move one or both of Gibson and Joakim Noah.
Hinrich is useless to the Bulls in Hoiberg's offense as well. His three-point rate has dipped under 35.5 percent in three of the last four seasons, and he's coming off a campaign in which he posted the fourth-worst player efficiency rating in league history (6.8) among all qualified guards.
Owed no more than $8.6 million in any of the next four seasons, Morris is simply a better fit for a Bulls offense that will, without question, undergo contemporary transformation with Hoiberg on the sidelines.
Yes, Morris' outside stroke does need some work. He's shooting 32.8 percent from deep for his career. But hey, at least he's shooting from deep. He connected on a personal-best 57 long balls last season—56 more than Gibson has hit for his career.
Shedding around $3.3 million in salary on this deal is just a bonus. The Bulls are almost $4.5 million north of next season's $81.6 million luxury-tax threshold, and this move puts them on the verge of ducking beneath it.
At the very least it allows them go outside and find a cheap backup floor general for Derrick Rose without being as concerned about the tax implications.
For the Suns, Gibson admittedly doesn't fit their small-ball dynamic—not unless he starts chucking threes. But he and Chandler would make for a deadly defensive dyad.
Opponents shot just 45.5 percent against Gibson at the rim last season. That's better than even Chandler (50.9 percent), and it ranked in the 89th percentile of all players to face five shots at the iron per game.
With both of them in the fold, the Suns wouldn't have to worry about the defensive disadvantages their Bledsoe-Knight backcourt creates. A frontcourt rotation of Chandler, Gibson and Alex Len would have its back.
Houston Rockets
2 of 5
Phoenix Suns Get: PF Donatas Motiejunas, SF Kostas Papanikolaou and 2017 first-round pick
Houston Rockets Get: PF Markieff Morris
Turning Morris into another floor-spacing big (Motiejunas) and a first-rounder would be a win for the Suns. End of story.
Dealing for Morris is the exact kind of move that has Rockets general manager Daryl Morey written all over it.
Both Terrence Jones and Motiejunas will be due substantial raises next summer in restricted free agency, so trading the less important of the two won't sting much at all.
Especially when you're getting a reasonably priced Morris for the next four seasons. He can play alongside Dwight Howard in the starting lineup or come off the bench and spell Jones.
Having Morris even gives the Rockets leverage in contract negotiations with Jones next summer. If his three-point accuracy improves further—he shot 41.4 percent on spot-up treys last season—Jones could fetch more than the $7.4 million that Morris is owed in 2016-17. Thank the spiking salary cap.
Landing Morris, then, could actually help the Rockets build a better long-term core. Howard has the option of exploring free agency, and Morey isn't above opening up multiple max-contract slots if given the opportunity.
There's also immediate value in employing Morris now. Only eight other players averaged at least 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal per game last season: Carmelo Anthony, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul Millsap, Greg Monroe, Russell Westbrook and Morris.
That's some company—a click that players of Morris' pay grade seldom crack. And to think, at only 25, he's not yet done improving.
Houston would do well to invest in his growth.
Memphis Grizzlies
3 of 5
Phoenix Suns Get: SG Jordan Adams and F Jeff Green
Memphis Grizzlies Get: PF Markieff Morris
The Grizzlies' offensive diversification continues.
They shook things up by trading for Matt Barnes and signing Brandan Wright, adding some much-needed athleticism and versatility to their rotation. Ahead of the draft, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that they were after Danilo Gallinari, suggesting they're looking to take the floor-spacing plunge.
In lieu of Gallinari, there's Morris.
He isn't hitting threes at an especially high clip (yet), but he converted a greater percentage of his catch-and-shoot treys last season (32.3) than Green (31.4). He's also cheaper in the grand scheme of things.
Green's contract will come off the books next summer, at which point he'll probably leave. The Grizzlies have Mike Conley's and Courtney Lee's free agencies to worry about, and Green never really fit the small forward billing Memphis forced him to play.
To be sure, Morris won't either. Memphis will have to slot the 6'10" power forward at, well, power forward. But 35 percent of Morris' minutes also came at center in 2014-15, affording the Grizzlies more options.
A frontcourt tandem of Brandan Wright and Morris in the second unit has a nice ring to it as well. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are both on the wrong side of 30, and having two bargain-priced bodies behind them to soak up extra minutes will help smooth out the aging process.
And Green projects as a better fit for the Suns. They ranked third in pace last season and, therefore, are better equipped to utilize his speed and explosion. They'll also have a hole at power forward, erasing any possibility that Green is pigeonholed to a 3 spot he just isn't suited for anymore.
Adams can be thought of as a late first-round pick. He was drafted at No. 22 in 2014 and heralded as a point-piling superhuman coming out of UCLA. He too is a good match for Phoenix's high-octane attack.
Taking on Green's expiring deal, meanwhile, gives the Suns some extra cap space to burn through in 2016 free agency, something that clearly interests them. They were one of the finalists for LaMarcus Aldridge's services this summer and can parlay that offseason exposure into aggressive, meaningful sales pitches next year.
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New Orleans Pelicans
4 of 5
Phoenix Suns Gets: PF Ryan Anderson and SF Wilson Chandler
Denver Nuggets Get: SF P.J. Tucker and 2016 top-10 protected first-round pick (via Cleveland)
New Orleans Pelicans Get: G Randy Foye and PF Markieff Morris
Anderson is already in the Suns' sights, according to Schultz. He's more of a stretch 4 than Morris right now, and while he's working off a down season through which he shot less than 40 percent for the first time since he was a rookie, he still buried a respectable 36.1 percent of his spot-up bombs amid those struggles.
Now, an Anderson-for-Morris swap does work straight up. But the idea of flipping a conservatively priced long-term deal for just one expiring contract is too much of a dice roll.
Prying Chandler out of Denver provides the Suns with two players on the right side of 30 to evaluate against their impending free agencies—both of whom fit into their small-ball blueprint and could end up being permanent fixtures.
Good news for the Suns on that front: The Nuggets are willing to ship out Chandler, per Ken Berger of CBS Sports. And if moving his expiring deal includes nabbing a first-rounder, they should pull the trigger.
Better news: Anderson should be available too.
As Oleh Kosel pointed out for The Bird Writes, Anderson, despite his polished jumper, isn't a good match for Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry's offense:
"Well, the New Orleans offense isn't going to run in similar manner. Since his days in Phoenix, Gentry has been all about ball movement and motion. During his time with the Clippers and Warriors, both teams finished first in secondary assists per game. The number of passes per game were always higher when Alvin sat on that particular team's bench.
The power forwards on both of those teams? Blake Griffin and Draymond Green. Two versatile and dynamic players that are nearly polar opposites of Ryan Anderson.
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Morris has already dished out nearly 150 more career dimes than Anderson through three fewer seasons, and his assist rate has eclipsed 10 percent in each of last two crusades. He will thrive under Gentry as a second-string power forward behind Anthony Davis.
And for those times when Gentry trots out Davis and Morris together, their offensive potential, spacing and all, can be summed up using a three-letter acronym: OMG.
Foye's non-guaranteed deal isn't just a throw-in, by the way. It can be if the Pelicans are so inclined, but he's a 37.5 percent shooter from deep for his career, and a better option to back up Jrue Holiday on the offensive end than either Jimmer Fredette or Norris Cole.
Toronto Raptors
5 of 5
Phoenix Suns Get: PG Luke Ridnour and SF Terrence Ross
Toronto Raptors Get: PF Markieff Morris
Viewed objectively, without any sort of bias, while keeping your emotions and rooting interests in check, the Raptors are having one helluva offseason.
We're here to make it even better.
Trading Ross wouldn't normally portend good times. He was drafted eighth overall in 2012, is super athletic, has drastically improved his outside shot (37.2 percent from downtown last season) and isn't yet four years into his career.
Still, the Raptors are built to make noise now after signing Bismack Biyombo, DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph. Ross, at 6'7", is also a cross between a shooting guard and small forward. With DeMar DeRozan and Carroll—in addition to the 6'9" combo forward Bruno Caboclo—on the docket, Ross doesn't necessarily have a future in Toronto.
Landing Morris, a more established performer on the books for no more than $8.6 million over the next four seasons, better prepares the Raptors to keep contending in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
Every seed behind the conference-cowing Cleveland Cavaliers is up for grabs. A starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Morris and Jonas Valanciunas leaves the Raptors firmly in play for that No. 2 spot.
On the flip side, Ross helps the Suns deepen their shallow small forward rotation—assuming that's where he plays. They have just one season to decide whether he's worth a contract in restricted free agency, but he's cut from the same cloth as 2013-14 Gerald Green. And that version of Green thrived in Phoenix.
Ridnour's deal is valuable for obvious reasons—reasons even the now well-traveled point guard understands.
"We knew this could happen," he told Rolling Stone's Darren Reidy of being traded a bajillion times this offseason. "My contract is an attractive trade piece."
In Phoenix, it would look like an attractive keeper piece.
Ridnour is due just under $2.8 million next season, and the Suns don't yet have someone to back up their two starting point guards. He is a good enough playmaker to bridge the gap between Bledsoe's or Knight's stays on the bench, and can even function off the ball alongside either one. He found nylon on more than 40 percent of his standstill treys with the Orlando Magic.
Clearing the decks for Aldridge and signing Chandler has left the Suns in this weird limbo. They're half-rebuilding, half-trying to compete now.
Ross and Ridnour, believe it or not, can help them do both.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited. Salary information via Basketball Insiders and Larry Coon's CBA FAQ. Draft-pick commitments from RealGM. Free-agency signings come from Bleacher Report's free-agent big board.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
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