Markieff Morris has been throwing the biggest hissy fit of the summer and this is the summer that included a premature DeAndre Jordan decision, which seemed a little childish in nature itself. Morris’ obsession with making it clear to the Phoenix Suns staff and fans that he does not want to be on Phoenix has seemed obnoxious and frankly kind of pathetic. This all started when the Suns traded his brother Marcus to the Pistons in order to free up cap space to sign LaMarcus Aldridge.
That decision ultimately blew up in the Suns face and Aldridge ended up signing with the Spurs. Now they have a risk of losing their starting Power Forward from the previous season Markieff. So where would he go? He’s mentioned that Houston and Toronto are two destinations he would love. New York, Boston and Philadelphia have also been mentioned in the chase for Markieff.
As a Raptors fan, I am here to address a common topic of discussion in Raptors forums. The Raptors don’t have a Power Forward they can trust with the starting position. Although Patrick Patterson would like to say something else about that, this is the overall consensus from fans. People have suggested pursuing Taj Gibson, Kenneth Faried, Terrence Jones, and now Markieff Morris. It seems like any available Power Forward who’s starting at PF, would be satisfactory for us. I’m here to disagree.
Markieff Morris is not what the Raptors want on their team. After his emotional display & troubles with the Law, no team should really want that attitude in the locker room. This is a guy who said he wasn’t going to answer anyone in any office of the Suns and he will respond to his Head Coach with merely ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. His brother and him beat someone up in Arizona and he awaits trial. Can Markieff even travel to Canada right now? A person who’s under investigation for a crime is probably not allowed to leave the country.
So let’s say for fun that his charges were erased. Markieff is a stretch forward, averaging 15.4 PPG and 6.5 RPG for the Suns, and he’s affordable. You can’t hate people for thinking he’s a good pick up, it’s a valid opinion, but what’s the point to a guy who’s game is the mirror image of Patrick Patterson’s. Patterson is not a proven starter, but he’s dedicated two years ( + his extension) to this #WeTheNorth campaign they’ve had and he seems dedicated to prove people wrong. The starting spot is his to lose. They both aren’t very good at rebounding and right now that’s what the Raptors need. It would make more sense to bet on Patterson then to bet on a guy who hasn’t shown enough to risk on him.
There is still a lot of time left until October 28th when the first NBA game will be played for the 2015-2016 season. Markieff Morris could change his mind. The Raptors could solve their PF issue somewhere else or just depend on Patterson to play the role. What is for sure is that Markieff’s time is limited in Phoenix, and Toronto will still seek a PF and both teams hope to improve on failure of seasons in their own facets.
