Markieff Morris is a highly-sought after player right now, despite his clear attitude issues. The Pistons want him, the Pelicans want him, and the Rockets want him. Morris has a ton of talent, but clearly Phoenix is not the right fit. This summer, Morris essentially threw a temper tantrum when the Suns traded his Brother to the Detroit Pistons, and publicly demanded to be traded as well.
Since then, things seemed to have smoothed over, as Morris did a 180 and said that he wants to stay in Phoenix. However, Morris has not shot the ball well this season, and his play has declined overall. He’s even been benched for the past few games. It certainly seems that his future may not lie in Phoenix.
The Houston Rockets could use a change. After finishing second place in a very tough Western conference last season, and making the Conference Finals, the team is falling apart. They’re currently 13-14. Who could have predicted that the same Rockets team that won 56 games last season would be a sub-500 team this year with the same(and healthier) roster, plus Ty Lawson? The hole for the Rockets seems to be at the power forward spot. Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas both seem like they have bright futures, yet Houston, for whatever reason, doesn’t appear to consider either of them the answer. They’ve been starting Clint Capela recently, and he’s actually been pretty solid. Capela is young though, and likely isn’t ready for the starting role. Enter Markieff Morris. The Rockets have been linked to him for months now in rumors, and he would fill a positional need(although the last thing that team needs is a head case).
The Rockets chose not to offer contract extensions to either Jones of Motiejunas, and rumors have been flying that the two may be traded.
Phoenix and Houston have been seriously discussing swapping Morris for Jones and small forward Corey Brewer, per ESPN’s Marc Stein.
As ESPN.com reported Dec. 6, Houston has serious interest in the Phoenix Suns’ very available Markieff Morris.
And a Rockets offer of Corey Brewer and Terrence Jones, sources say, has not only been seriously discussed, the teams could get that deal done.
The problem: Brewer isn’t quite clear to be dealt yet. Because the Rockets re-signed Brewer to a salary ($8.2 million) that exceeds his prior salary ($4.7 million) by more than 20 percent — and because Houston is over the salary cap — Houston can’t deal the veteran swingman until Jan. 15 as opposed to Dec. 15.
If Stein’s sources are accurate, it seems likely that Morris could be on his way to Houston Once Jones can be traded.
I think that talent-wise the trade works for both teams, but I’m just not sure I like the deal for Houston. They’re getting a better player, but not one known for being a good teammate. What that Rockets’ locker room needs right now is a serious, hard-working attitude. They’ve looked lazy this year, especially on the defensive end. Corey Brewer is one of the guys on that team who actually works hard on defense, so I’m not sure I like the idea of trading him, especially not when you’re getting a player with a questionable attitude in return.
