Marcus Morris Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Dunleavy, Morris, Bulls

September 25th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls small forward Mike Dunleavy underwent a successful low back microdiscectomy procedure earlier today at Rush University Medical Center and he is expected to be out of action for 8-10 weeks, the team announced. Dunleavy had experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer which had recently worsened, according to the release. If his recovery goes as planned, Dunleavy will likely miss between 12-15 contests.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Marcus Morris views his new start with the Pistons as a means to finally carve out a niche for himself in the league, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “In Phoenix, I thought I should have started at the three,” Morris told Langlois. “The guy that’s there now [P.J. Tucker] might have been a better defender, but as an all-around three, I thought I was the best we had. And I thought a lot of players thought that, too. But there’s a lot of opportunity here. I have a chance to come in and start right away. I’ve been in the league for five years. It’s nothing new to me. I have started my share of games. It’s not like I’m new to it. The only thing that’s new is that it’s the East Coast now.”
The Bulls return virtually the same core as last season, and if the change in coaches from Tom Thibodeau to Fred Hoiberg doesn’t nudge the team to the next level, it may be time for Chicago to attempt to pry Carmelo Anthony away from the Knicks, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Friedell does note that the size of Anthony’s contract would be a gamble for Bulls, and the team would likely have to part with a number of talented players to make the deal work financially, which would make such a trade a risky proposition for Chicago.
If the Cavaliers can remain healthy as a unit and are able to secure home court advantage in the playoffs, the team is likely to secure the NBA title in 2015/16, the crew at Basketball Insiders opine in their season preview.

And-Ones: Langdon, Wizards, Fournier

September 14th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers will hire Spurs scout Trajan Langdon as their Director of Player Administration, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He will replace Raja Bell, who is leaving to spend more time with his family, Wojnarowski adds. The change was confirmed by Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, who spoke to Bell. “I had so much fun with those boys and the Cavaliers’ organization, but it was just time to be with my family,” said Bell, who served in that role for one season. “It was the right thing to do right now, but I definitely enjoyed my time there.”

In other news around the league:

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis had reached a tentative deal with Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser to build a $56.3MM practice facility, Jonathan O’Connell of the Washington Post reports. Officials said the city plans to construct and own the facility, which will also include an arena for the WNBA Washington Mystics, while Leonsis would contribute $10MM to aid the surrounding neighborhood, O’Connell continues. Leonsis has been pushing for a state-of-the-art venue to replace the existing practice facility at the Verizon Center in order to attract high-profile free agents next summer, including Kevin Durant, who grew up in nearby Prince George’s County, O’Connell adds.
Suns forward Markieff Morris and his brother, Pistons forward Marcus Morris, have a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday in Phoenix, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets. They face felony aggravated assault charges for their alleged roles in a January brawl at a Phoenix recreation center. 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, former NBA executive Bobby Marks tweets.
Magic swingman Evan Fournier could have competition for minutes and a sixth-man role this season from rookie Mario Hezonja, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Both have similar skills, though playing them together on the second unit is intriguing because it could give Orlando some second-unit firepower, Schmitz continues. Fournier needs to improve defensively and increase his strength to get more playing time, Schmitz adds. He is eligible for an extension until the start of the regular season, and we recently examined his chances of getting it in our Extension Candidate series.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Morris Change Agents

August 20th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Spurs marquee free agent signee LaMarcus Aldridge has departed the Wasserman Media Group to join Excel Sports Management, while the recently traded Marcus Morris has left the Creative Artists Agency, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter links). Aldridge had previously been with Arn Tellem, who’s leaving for a job with the Pistons organization, though RealGM lists his most recent primary agent with Wasserman as having been Michael Tellem, Arn’s son. Morris, who’s been a client of Leon Rose, has expressed displeasure with swap that sent him to Detroit and separated him from twin brother Markieff Morris, who’s demanded that the Suns trade him, too. Coincidentally, the Suns made the trade in an effort to clear cap room for Aldridge, who strongly considered signing with Phoenix before choosing San Antonio instead.

Aldridge signed a maximum-salary deal with the Spurs last month after dogged pursuit from the Suns and several other teams. He was the most high-profile free agent to change teams last summer and had the power to essentially dictate his own terms and location. The 30-year-old would seemingly have little reason for discontent with Wasserman, so I’d speculate that the move is tied to Arn Tellem’s departure. Aldridge won’t be able to elect free agency again until 2018, when he can turn down a player option, so his new relationship with Excel will probably focus on business ventures outside of basketball for the time being.

Marcus Morris has little to negotiate contractually either, having signed a four-year, $20MM extension last fall that kicks in for the coming season. It’s unclear who his next representative will be, but he could seek out agents who would pressure the Pistons to engineer a deal that would reunite him with his brother, though that would be a difficult pursuit. Marcus indicated that he believes he took less than he was worth on his extension, so that may also be a factor in his decision to change agents. It’s unclear whether Markieff, a fellow Rose client, will follow suit. It’s been a mixed summer for Rose. Client J.R. Smith has languished in free agency after he turned down a player option worth nearly $6.4MM, but Jonas Valanciunas, another Rose client, just signed a four-year, $64MM extension, and Rose also represents No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns.

The former agents for both Aldridge and Morris will continue to receive the fees based on the deals that the players signed with their respective teams this year, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Central Notes: Allen, Morris, Thompson

August 14th, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lavoy Allen received incentive clauses on his three-year deal with the Pacers instead of the $1.5MM signing bonus that was originally reported, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It appears that those incentives call for Allen to get an extra $500K each year if he keeps his weight down, Pincus also tweets. Allen is considered likely to make weight, so the cap hits of $4.05MM this season and $4MM each of the next two years remain the same, unless he fails to hit the target at preseason weigh-ins.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

One of the reasons that the Pistons acquired Marcus Morris was to prevent 2015 first round draftee Stanley Johnson from being pressured to start and produce for the team immediately, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Mayo also notes that Morris’ $5MM salary this season, and the $4.625MM he will earn for the 2016/17 campaign, will make him a bargain as a reserve player once Johnson assumes a starting role.
The Cavaliers need to be careful that whatever the outcome of their contract negotiations with restricted free agent Tristan Thompson, they don’t alienate LeBron James, who is on record as being a big supporter of the forward, Tom Ziller of SBNation writes. Though Ziller doesn’t necessarily believe that James would leave Cleveland again, he doesn’t think it wise for the franchise to roll the dice and risk losing the superstar next summer. Also complicating matters is the fact that Thompson’s agent, Rich Paul, also represents LeBron.
Earlier this evening we broke down the 2015/16 salary cap figures for the Pistons, and previously had done the same for the Bulls and Cavaliers, which can be viewed here and here.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Reaction To Markieff Morris Trade Demand

August 13th, 2015 at 12:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns are in a tough spot in the wake of a trade demand from Markieff Morris that confirmed a report from last week that he wants out of Phoenix. The deal that sent twin Marcus Morris to the Pistons last month is at the root of the discontent, but when, or if, the Suns trade the remaining Morris brother remains to be seen. Here’s the latest reaction and fallout to the news:

The Suns don’t intend to cave to Markieff’s trade demand, for now, but he’s told people close to him that he won’t talk to Suns front office officials and will respond only in one-word answers to coach Jeff Hornacek if he remains on the team, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Markieff would like to play with the Rockets or Raptors but doesn’t really have a preference as long as he’s no longer playing for the Suns, Gambadoro adds.
Marcus told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was upset the Suns would trade him without his consent after he and his brother took what Marcus called pay cuts on their extensions last fall, but SB Nation’s Tom Ziller argues that Markieff was the only one who took less than he was worth. Even so, the Morrises had to know that the Suns would put the interests of the team above their desire to stay together, Ziller opines.
Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic makes a similar argument and points to behavior from the twins, both on an off the court, that’s been less than endearing to the team and its fans as part of the reason why the Suns traded Marcus last month.
Markieff can be maddening to those around him, but he’s not unpopular in the locker room, as recent comments from Archie Goodwin indicate, writes Paula Boivin of The Arizona Republic. It’s incumbent upon the Suns to see if they can reconcile with the talented power forward, and with a pattern of players showing discontent on their way out of Phoenix, including Goran Dragic‘s acrimonius exit this past February, the team must fix what appears to be a communication problem, Boivin posits.

Eastern Notes: Thompson, Dragic, Pistons

August 10th, 2015 at 10:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Agent Rich Paul may represent both LeBron James and Tristan Thompson, but the influence Thompson’s negotiations have on LeBron’s decision-making is overstated, opines Hoops Rumors contributor Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, who believes Thompson shouldn’t overplay his hand.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Zoran Dragic‘s representatives wanted to secure his release from the Celtics so that he could return to Europe and play regularly, sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Celtics announced on Monday that they had waived Dragic, whom they acquired in last month’s trade with Miami.
The Cavaliers are the Eastern Conference’s top team in terms of roster construction but there are several surprises in the Top 5, according to an analysis by ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle in an Insider-only piece. The Pacers rank second in tier score, which is based on a team’s anticipated 10-man rotation. The Raptors, Pistons and Hawks round out the Top 5 while the Nets, a playoff team last season, are near the bottom at No. 13.
The Pistons could go with a wing trio of Marcus Morris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson against certain opponents, which would mean reduced playing time for Jodie Meeks, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. The production from that trio will have a major influence on the team’s goal to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2008/09 season, Langlois adds.

Eastern Rumors: Pistons, Wilbekin, Pacers

August 3rd, 2015 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ersan Ilyasova would have been a top target for the Pistons if he had been a free agent this summer, coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Ilyasova was acquired in a trade with the Bucks, who re-signed restricted free agent Khris Middleton, another Detroit target, according to Langlois. “If he’d been a free agent, he’d have been the guy at the top of our list at power forward,” Van Gundy said of Ilyasova. The Pistons also would not have pursued a free agent small forward if Marcus Morris had been made available sooner. He was acquired in a salary dump by the Suns in early July after Detroit came up empty in its aim to sign either DeMarre Carroll or Danny Green. “There’s no question we would have opted to take him rather than go into free agency had that been there [before July 1],” Van Gundy said to Langlois. “It wasn’t at the time, so we did try to make a play for a couple of guys. But when it didn’t work out and that presented itself, we were fortunate.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Scottie Wilbekin received a $200K guarantee from the Sixers for the upcoming season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The remainder of the four-year, $3.5MM contract that the ex-University of Florida point guard signed is not guaranteed, Pincus adds. Wilbekin will make $525,093 in the first year if he’s still on the roster January 10th. He played in Australia and Greece last season after going undrafted.
Monta Ellis has the potential to ultimately become one of the Pacers’ greatest free agent signings, argues Mark Montieth of Pacers.com, who nonetheless ranks David West, who bolted for the Spurs this summer, as the most significant free agent addition in team history. Montieth addressed that and other topics in a mailbag format.
Drew Gooden‘s $3.547MM salary for the 2016/17 season becomes guaranteed on July 15th, according to Pincus (Twitter link). The Wizards forward, who has a guaranteed $3.3MM contract for the upcoming season, has a no-trade restriction on his deal which lifts on January 15th.

Pacific Notes: Chandler, Young, Barnes

July 24th, 2015 at 12:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most teams chasing top-tier centers thought it better to go after the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe before circling back to Tyson Chandler as something of a fallback option, but the Suns found it wise to chase Chandler before pursuing Aldridge, as Rob Mahoney of SI.com examines. Chandler quickly committed to Phoenix, and he helped them become a finalist in the Aldridge sweepstakes.

“I think when you have a guy like that that you target, you go aggressively after him. And that’s what we decided to do with Tyson,” GM Ryan McDonough said to Mahoney. “It did help us that there were so many free agent big men on the market, especially high-level players — guys who have been All-Stars, All-NBA, and all that stuff. I think a few teams wanted to kind of talk to each of the guys and get a feel for them. Some of the players wanted to do visits with multiple teams, and be wined and dined a bit. Tyson really didn’t want any of that.”

There’s more from Phoenix amid our latest look around the Pacific Division:

The Suns seemingly made their three-player trade with the Pistons in an effort to clear cap room for Aldridge, but McDonough told Mahoney that the deal that sent out Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger is one the team would have done regardless, citing a desire for more roster balance and future flexibility.
Nick Young feels more confident that he’ll begin the coming season with the Lakers after a recent meeting with GM Mitch Kupchak, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. That jibes with a dispatch last week from Bill Oram of the Orange County Register, who heard that the Lakers had stopped looking for trade partners who’d take Young.
Harrison Barnes confirmed Thursday that he wants a long-term future with the Warriors, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group details. He and the team reportedly share a mutual interest in a rookie scale extension. “I mean, we just won a championship,” Barnes said. “Of course I’d love to keep this group together for many years to come, you know what I’m saying? So that’s obvious.”

Central Notes: Monroe, Blake, Thompson

July 14th, 2015 at 6:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Greg Monroe said former Pistons teammate Khris Middleton was a key recruiter in Milwaukee’s pursuit and made it clear that the Bucks roster seemed appealing as a strong fit, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel chronicles. “While a lot of people will say, ‘Is this a statement about big cities?’ No. It’s just about a statement that this is a good fit for Greg Monroe,” agent David Falk said in part.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pistons view newly acquired Steve Blake as an inexpensive option off the bench at point guard, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “Just insurance,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Ellis when asked how Blake fit with the team. “We’re very hopeful that Brandon Jennings will play at a high level. And can develop Spencer Dinwiddie, but not have pressure on him.“
The Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson are reportedly making progress toward a new deal, and with the two sides now roughly $5MM apart on total value, GM David Griffin is confident the situation will be resolved amicably, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets. “I feel good about the situation where it’s at overall,” Griffin said about the negotiations during an appearance on NBA TV.
Van Gundy indicated that the Pistons would have passed on chasing free agent small forwards if the trade for Marcus Morris had materialized prior to the NBA Draft, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “So we were chasing the small forwards on the free-agent market, but there were only a couple of guys that we really liked,” Van Gundy said. “When those guys, we didn’t get, and the trade came available, we jumped at it. We thought it was something that would have been at the top of our list if it had been available at the very beginning.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Hibbert, Young, Brown, Davis

July 10th, 2015 at 9:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said in an appearance on Time Warner Cable SportsNet that he had the Roy Hibbert trade lined up with the Pacers in advance of the start of free agency as a fallback in case the Lakers fell short with their primary free agent targets, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe all passed on the purple-and-gold, so Hibbert it is for the Lakers, who made his acquisition the last of their moves under the cap. That’s key, since it meant that the trade wouldn’t otherwise work unless Hibbert agreed to waive part of his 15% trade kicker. He wouldn’t have been allowed to waive it unless the Lakers were in such a position, but they were, and he gave back all but $78,185 of what otherwise would have been $2.3MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links).

Here’s the latest from the Pacific Division:

The 2018 first-round pick that the Kings owe the Sixers from this month’s three-player trade is protected only for the top 10 picks, according to salary cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter link). It’s unprotected for 2019. It’s possible that it’ll roll over to 2019 even if Sacramento’s pick ends up out of the top 10 in 2018 if the Kings have to send their 2017 first-rounder to the Bulls as part of a previous trade, Coon notes (on Twitter; also see RealGM).
The 2020 second-round pick that the Suns will receive from the Pistons as part of the Marcus Morris trade is Detroit’s own selection, according to RealGM.
Despite Nick Young reportedly being on the trading block, Kupchak said of the forward, “I do see him being a core player this year,” Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times tweets. The GM did stress that Young would need to show improvement on the defensive side of the game, Bresnahan adds.
Lakers second round pick Anthony Brown‘s contract calls for him to earn $700k for the 2015/16 season, $875k the second year, and $1MM in 2017/18, Pincus relays (Twitter links). The first two years of the deal are fully guaranteed, but the final season is non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
Kings executive Vlade Divac said that Sacramento has had discussions with unrestricted free agent point guard Andre Miller, but the team is exploring numerous options, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter link).
Brandon Bass‘ free agent deal with the Lakers is for two years and $6.135MM, and includes a player option for the second season, note Pincus and Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links). Bass was signed using available cap space, which means Los Angeles still retains its $2.8MM room exception, Bresnahan tweets.
Kupchak said that if unrestricted free agent Ed Davis had waited one more day before signing a deal with the Blazers, the Lakers would have been able to re-sign him, Pincus tweets. Instead, Davis inked a three-year, $20MM pact with Portland.
The Warriors are considering promoting assistant Luke Walton to replace Alvin Gentry as the associate head coach on Steve Kerr‘s staff, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.