Marcus Morris Ruled Out for Clippers' Season Opener vs. Lakers with Knee Injury

After he was held out for all of Los Angeles Clippers' preseason games, small forward Marcus Morris Sr. will miss the team's season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday because of soreness in his right knee, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.

Morris signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent in July 2019 after backing out of a verbal agreement with the San Antonio Spurs. He spent the previous two years with the Boston Celtics after stints with the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons.

New York traded him to the Clippers ahead of the 2020 NBA trade deadline after he made just 43 appearances for the organization.

The 31-year-old Philadelphia native has remained mostly durable in recent years. He missed 28 games during the 2017-18 campaign because of a lingering knee injury, but otherwise he sat out no more than 10 contests over the past six seasons.

L.A. will probably use a committee approach to pick up the extra minutes behind Serge Ibaka and Ivica Zubac in its frontcourt rotation. Patrick Patterson, Mfiondu Kabengele and Daniel Oturu are all options to get some extra run for the Clips.

Ultimately, Morris was acquired by the Clippers for the value he'll provide during the team's playoff runs. He should slot right back into his usual role once he's back to full strength.