Marcus Morris Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Morris, Noah, Pacers

December 6th, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Will Joseph

With increased minutes this season, Marcus Morris is making the most of his opportunity with the Pistons after being acquired by Detroit in a summer trade with the Suns, Rod Beard of the Detroit News details. Morris is a focal point of the offense and has been a workhorse, Beard writes. Morris is playing 37 minutes per game this season. In comparison, he saw 25.2 minutes per game last year, which set a career-high for the 26-year-old. Morris has played well lately and is averaging 14.8 points per game. There is a strong chance the trade turns out to be the Pistons’ best move of the offseason, Beard adds.

“Marcus can do a lot of things and I have to create more and more things for him. He’s a [expletive]-good passer too. We’re really fortunate to have him,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We thought he was good when we got him and he’s better than I thought he was.”

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

Joakim Noah, a 2016 free agent who is now coming off the bench for the Bulls, has had a string of solid performances for the first time this season, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune writes. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” Noah said. “I just stay positive and keep my focus on what I can control. Overall, I think I’m in a good place and I just have to keep building.”
Pacers rookie shooting guard Joseph Young has played in only seven games so far this season, but the former Oregon star isn’t frustrated about being left out of the rotation, Tyson Alger of The Oregonian relays in a Q&A. “I asked coach, ‘Coach what do I need to do to get in the rotation?’ And coach said, ‘Son, you’ve done everything you need to do to get in the rotation. But right now, we need to play the players we’re paying,'” Young told Alger. “He’s saying that he’s got to get Monta Ellis 30-plus minutes. Rodney Stuckey, you got to get him minutes. They’re paying them and they want to play them. I’m a rookie. I just got to keep working hard and my time is going to come. Just paying my dues.”

Pistons Notes: Jennings, Johnson, Morris, Tolliver

December 3rd, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Brandon Jennings, set for free agency at season’s end, is willing to accept a bench role upon his return from a torn Achilles, which is reportedly three or four weeks away, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News. Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80MM deal has firmly entrenched him as the starting point guard.

“Always in my head [I am a starter],” Jennings said. “But sometimes you’ve got to take the back seat and do what is best for the team.”

Jennings said he’d go after the Sixth Man of the Year award if he can’t find his way into the starting five at some point, Foster adds. See more from the Motor City:

Stanley Johnson made winning a starting job at the beginning of the season a priority, but now he, too, is OK with coming off the bench, MLive’s David Mayo notes. He’s seeing 21.3 minutes per game so far this season but came close to 30 minutes in a win against the Rockets this week. “I’m always competing for a starting position,” Johnson said. “Since I got here, I’ve always said that I’m always competing for a starting position. But I’m not going to be the player who comes off the bench and says, ‘Aw, I should start.’ Thirty minutes is 30 minutes; 35 minutes … it doesn’t matter what minutes you’re playing as long as you’re still getting your minutes. If I can have starter’s production in my bench minutes, I think I’m doing the same thing as starting.”
Wednesday’s game against the Suns didn’t evoke much emotion for Marcus Morris, who was upset this summer after Phoenix traded him to the Pistons. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has the details. “Like I said before, I’m in Detroit,” Morris said. “No thoughts of being in Phoenix come to my mind anymore.”
It’s a key season for Anthony Tolliver, who’s poised to hit free agency this coming summer, as Mayo examines in a separate piece. The 30-year-old Larry Fox client has carved out an NBA career in large measure because of his outside shooting, but he contends that he can do more than just nail 3-pointers, as he tells Mayo. He’s been an important scorer off the bench for the Pistons since they traded for him nearly a year ago, Mayo writes, but his points per game, as well as his vaunted shooting, are off this season.

Marcus Morris: Markieff Looks Unhappy On Suns

November 6th, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Markieff Morris has had nothing but positives to say about the Suns since he arrived at the team’s training camp in September and backed off his summer trade demand, but twin brother Marcus Morris isn’t sold on the idea that he still likes playing for Phoenix. Markieff Morris “doesn’t look happy,” his brother said today to reporters, including MLive’s David Mayo.

“He just don’t look comfortable,” Marcus Morris added, according to Mayo. “He don’t look too excited.”

Still, Marcus Morris wouldn’t directly answer whether his brother wants to be traded, according to Mayo. The Suns have been steadfast before and since Markieff Morris pronounced his desire to remain in Phoenix that they have no intention of trading him, though the Pistons, whose deal with the Suns to acquire Marcus Morris in July touched off the controversy, reportedly have some interest in reuniting the brothers.

Marcus Morris said today that he hopes his brother can end up on a team he enjoys playing for and expressed his fondness for his experience with the Pistons so far this season, Mayo notes. Detroit’s new starting small forward sent mixed messages Thursday about whether he’s past his own resentment toward the Suns, who play host to the Pistons in tonight’s game.

Markieff Morris said repeatedly over the summer that he wanted out of Phoenix, a narrative that began when John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 radio reported his displeasure with the team following the departure of his brother. He made his public trade demand to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer soon thereafter, and later tweeted, “My future will not be in Phoenix,” a remark that drew a $10K fine from the NBA. His contract calls for him to make $8MM this season, the first in a four-year extension he signed a year ago in the ill-fated hopes that it would allow him a long term future of playing alongside his brother, who simultaneously signed a four-year, $20MM extension.

Do you think Markieff Morris will still be on the Suns when the trade deadline passes? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Beal, Durant, Morris, Giles

November 6th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Bradley Beal understands the advantage of the cap flexibility the Wizards retained when they didn’t sign him to an extension before Monday’s deadline, and he has no desire to play for any other team after his restricted free agency next summer, as he tells Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. Beal thinks of himself as a max player but told Lee that he’ll accept whatever he deserves regardless of whether it’s the max. The Wizards reportedly intend to give him the max next summer.

“This is where I want to be. I’m not looking at any other teams. I’m not looking to go anywhere else. I believe in this team we have in this locker room. I’m a big cornerstone of this team, so I’m here. I want to be here. Hopefully, the front office knows that. I’m pretty sure that they know that,” Beal said.

See more on the Wizards amid the latest from around the NBA:

The Wizards remain a legitimate threat to sign Kevin Durant in 2016, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. One executive from another team who spoke with Berger insists the maneuver the Wizards are executing with Beal to help facilitate that, similar to what the Pistons are doing with Andre Drummond, is against the rules.
Marcus Morris made comments indicating that he’s ready to move past his feelings toward the trade that separated him from his brother, but as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press shows, he still has negative memories of his time with the Suns. “I felt disrespected the entire time I was in Phoenix,” Morris said. “I was playing well, but I still feel like I didn’t have a real opportunity to grow. Anytime a team trades you away like that, it’s a slap in the face. I still feel disrespected, and I feel like I want to disrespect them.”
Top 2017 draft prospect Harry Giles suffered a “slight small tear” in his right ACL, a source told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, but it’s enough to knock him out for his senior year of high school this season, his father confirmed to Paul Biancardi of ESPN.com. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress moved the 6’10” power forward down from No. 1 to No. 2 in his 2017 mock draft, replacing him at the top with 6’8″ small forward Jayson Tatum, but Givony explained to Zagoria for a separate story that Giles has plenty of time to recover and regain the top spot.

And Ones: Love, Kidd, Morris, D-League

November 5th, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Love and LeBron James didn’t get along during the 2014/15 campaign, Love’s first with the Cavaliers, and much of the discord stemmed from Love arriving to the team out of shape, which frustrated James immensely, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. Love, who was an unrestricted free agent this offseason, says that he always intended to re-sign with Cleveland, and he approached James shortly after the NBA Finals to let LeBron know that he wanted to play a larger role in the team’s offense, Lloyd relays. “More than anything I just wanted to see what he thought about where the team was going and what we wanted to accomplish,” Love said. “It was always ‘we’ or ‘us.’ It was never like, ‘You need to tell me this.’ Never.”

Many within the Cavs’ organization believe that James, who loves challenges, has taken Love on as his own special project this season, and his primary goal is to build up Love’s confidence, Lloyd adds. “Some of the finer points and perhaps things people overlook is how he influences his teammates and how he influences the flow of the game just by recognizing what helps other guys function better when he trusts in something or someone on the court,” coach David Blatt said of James. “Bron also understands this is a long season and the more he empowers those around him, the better it’s going to be going down the line.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Jason Kidd‘s move from the Nets to the Bucks was certainly a wise one given Milwaukee’s much brighter future outlook, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes. For his part, Kidd enjoys the challenge of developing and coaching the team’s younger players, Mazzeo notes. “Coaching is hard no matter what — whether you’re coaching veterans or young guys,” Kidd said. “Being able to use certain vocabulary with the older guys — they get it and they can go out and execute it. Sometimes with the younger guys, you have to show them on video or walk through it and then have them do it. So you might have to spend a little more time teaching, but that’s fun. That’s why I like being in Milwaukee, to help put these young guys in a position to have success.”
Pistons combo forward Marcus Morris said that he has learned from his negative experience of being traded away from his twin brother, Markieff Morris, after inking a contract extension with the Suns, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “This is the NBA. I let relationships overcome business. That will never happen again,” Morris said. “I’m learning from it. My brother’s learning from it. We’re going to continue to grow.“
The Clippers have assigned Branden Dawson and C.J. Wilcox to the D-League, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Since Los Angeles does not possess its own affiliate, both players are going to the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns‘ affiliate, Pincus adds.

Pistons Rumors: Morris, Ilyasova, Drummond

November 2nd, 2015 at 8:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Marcus Morris‘ hot start for the Pistons is a product of coach Stan Van Gundy encouraging his starting small forward to take mid-range jumpers, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. Van Gundy told Morris to work on his mid-range game after acquiring him from the Suns in July and Morris has responded by averaging a team-high 19.3 points during the team’s 3-0 start. “Marcus is a guy we can go to and isolate and can shoot a high percentage on mid-range jumpers,” Van Gundy told Langlois. “Across the league, it’s not a high-percentage shot. We know that. But everything is based on individuals. It’s not based on a league-wide average. The league-wide average on those shots might be 37 percent, but Marcus is shooting 52 percent.”

In other Pistons news:

Ersan Ilyasova is having his minutes monitored closely by the coaching staff, David Mayo of MLive.com reports. The power forward who was acquired from the Bucks during the offseason, is averaging 26.0 minutes, less than any other starter. “I’m concerned with him,” Van Gundy told the team’s beat reporters. “He plays at a real high pace and intensity level. He had a long summer. I am somewhat conscious of not over-playing him needlessly.” Ilyasova played for the Turkish national team during the offseason.
Center Andre Drummond became the first Piston in nearly six years to win the league’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, Mayo notes in a separate story. Drummond had double-doubles in each of the first three games, including a 20-point, 20-rebound outing against the Bulls.
Rookie forward Stanley Johnson will likely develop into an ideal complement to the team’s core duo of Drummond and point guard Reggie Jackson, Ananth Pandian of CBSSports.com opines. Johnson has the defensive prowess to match up with division’s top wing players and his offensive game is more suited to the NBA, Pandian adds. “College basketball is a lot different with the rules,” Johnson told Pandian. “I think the NBA game is a help for me because when I drive to the basket there is not three or four defenders at the rim, there is only one. This makes my reads a lot easier and it makes attacking the basket a lot easier.”
The Pistons’ quick start has reserve power forward Anthony Tolliver feeling bullish about the team’s prospects this season, as he told Ric Bucher in an Sirius XM Radio interview (Twitter link). “I just don’t see us not making the playoffs,” Tolliver boasted in the interview.

Pistons Notes: Morris, Drummond, Van Gundy

November 1st, 2015 at 3:15pm CST by Will Joseph

Marcus Morris is thriving with the Pistons and although it is very early, Aaron McMann of MLive.com writes that Detroit appears to be a big winner in its summer trade with the Suns. The Pistons acquired Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger from the Suns in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick.Through three games, as McMann points out, Morris is leading the Pistons with 19.3 points per game. He averaged 14.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a part-time starter last season in Phoenix.

Here’s more out of Detroit:

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy’s decision to let Greg Monroe leave Detroit at the end of his contract was due to the belief that Andre Drummond has superstar potential as a throwback center, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders reports in his Sunday column. The idea looks smart, as Hamilton suggests, because through the first three games of the regular season Drummond is averaging 18 points, 15.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Drummond has agreed to hold off on signing an extension to allow the team to retain more cap space heading into next offseason.
Under Van Gundy, the Pistons have gone from one of the league’s smallest front-office staffs to one of the largest, Michael Rosenberg of SI.com writes in an interesting story. For example, Detroit has four pro scouts, Rosenberg notes, and their jobs involve watching every team’s games this season. The Pistons have Van Gundy, GM Jeff Bower, three assistant general managers, a basketball-operations director, four pro scouts, six college/international scouts, two analytics software engineers and a director of strategic planning, according to Rosenberg, who also points out that in 2004, the Pistons only had five people in their front office. It’s clear Van Gundy has molded the franchise in his image and he told Rosenberg that, “If I had it to do over again, this is where I’d want to be.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Bulls, Butler

October 18th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Will Joseph

While center Andre Drummond, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and point guard Reggie Jackson are guaranteed starting spots, Marcus Morris, Ersan Ilyasova and Stanley Johnson are still fighting for the other two starting roles with the Pistons, Terry Foster of The Detroit News details. Each player has skills that make for a compelling argument, Foster writes, and no one seems to have the edge yet. Ilyasova can stretch the floor with his 3-point shot, Morris provides toughness and Johnson is quick in transition, Foster adds.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

Bulls rookie Bobby Portis is standing out early because of his confidence, rebounding ability and scoring touch, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg acknowledged it would be hard to envision a scenario where Portis isn’t given rotational minutes early in the season, Friedell adds. “I just think it’s his energy,” Hoiberg said. “Anybody that goes out and plays that hard every possession, good things generally happen and that’s exactly what Bobby has done.”
Look for Jimmy Butler, who re-signed with the Bulls over the summer, to pick up his intensity on the court as the regular season draws near, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. Butler, according to first-year coach Hoiberg, has been focused on getting his teammates more involved in a new system, Johnson adds.

Pistons Eye Markieff Morris?

October 6th, 2015 at 5:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Disgruntled Suns forward Markieff Morris may get his wish to rejoin his twin brother in Detroit at some point, with the Pistons monitoring Morris’ situation in Phoenix closely, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis does note that the Suns don’t appear to be currently interested in making a trade, but that could change on December 15th, which is the date most players become eligible to be traded (Twitter links). The former 13th overall pick had planned not to talk to the Suns front office and to answer coach Jeff Hornacek only with one-word responses until he was dealt, though Morris later backed off his rigid stance and declared “I want to be here” at Phoenix’s media day gathering. Markieff is slated to make $8MM this coming season in the first year of his four-year, $32MM extension.

Morris had previously said that he felt disrespected by the way the team handled the July 9th trade of his twin and former teammate, Marcus Morris, to the Pistons, and had made it clear that he wanted out of Phoenix prior to the 2015/16 season commencing. “One thing for sure, I am not going to be there,” Markieff had said. “If you want to put that out there, you can put that out,” he added. “. . . I am not to going to be there at all.” Those comments to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer essentially confirmed a report from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 radio that Markieff wanted off the Suns. Morris was fined $10k by the league for making those public statements.. Morris was fined $10k by the league for making those public statements.

The Pistons don’t necessarily have a need for Markieff after the offseason addition of Ersan Ilyasova, who was acquired in a trade with the Bucks. Marcus has also said that the opportunity to play away from his brother, while not ideal, could help him grow as a player. “I kind of wanted to play with my brother [twin Markieff Morris] so much that I kind of took away from myself,” Marcus said. “I didn’t think I had an opportunity to get better. I don’t think I had the chance to grow as a player over there. I think the opportunity is here for me.”

The brothers are also both facing felony aggravated assault charges for their alleged roles in a January brawl at a Phoenix recreation center, which could dampen the Pistons’ interest somewhat. The duo would be suspended a minimum of 10 games if they are found guilty of a felony and could also face a suspension if they’re guilty of a misdemeanor.

Pistons Notes: Drummond, Van Gundy, Morris

September 27th, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The question of whether to grant Andre Drummond an extension will be key for the Pistons, who would like their cornerstone center to delay signing until next year, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Drummond is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the Pistons have just more than a month to sign him to an extension in the five-year, $120MM range, Mayo adds. If not, he can become a restricted free agent next summer. The reason the Pistons would rather Drummond wait to sign, according to Mayo, is because until Drummond actually signs his contract, only his cap-hold figure of about $8.2MM would be factored into the Pistons’ 2016/17 payroll for salary-cap purposes, not the $21MM he actually figures to make that season. Mayo’s entire list of things to watch is a worthy read.

Here’s more out of Detroit:

With only three players still remaining on the Pistons from May 2014, which was when Pistons president/coach Stan Van Gundy was hired, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press runs down all of the teams’ moves since then.
Van Gundy, in an interview with Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, said he understands why Marcus Morris would be upset, but also adds that the situation should not be an issue going forward. Morris has bruised feelings toward the Suns after being traded away and separated from his brother.