With Morris, Suns balancing development with playoff push

The Phoenix Suns selected Kansas forward Markieff Morris
with the 13th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, and at the time
it was thought he was a decent-but-not-great prospect.

However, with the way the rookie started the season —
providing good scoring and rebounding punch off the bench
while showing a surprisingly good three-point shot,
expectations started to rise.

That’s why it was disappointing when Morris struggled
mightily in a starting role, and why it’s concerning his
game has fallen off so much over the last month.

Averaging just two points per game in 13 minutes of action
in March, the forward got his first DNP-CD Wednesday
against the Jazz, a move head coach Alvin Gentry said does
not mean he’s given up on Morris.

“We’ve got to keep working with Markieff, we’ve got to get
him better,” Gentry told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and
Gambo Thursday. “We’ve got to continue to work with him on
improving his post play, we’ve got to get his energy up a
little bit.

“He is a rookie and I think we’ve got to understand that,
but we’ve also got to demand certain things from him
because we want him to improve.”

The issue becomes trying to make a playoff push while also
developing a struggling rookie. Gentry said it’s all part
of the job.

“We have to develop him; he’s going to be one of the
future guys in our franchise,” Gentry said. “We’ve got to
also have to have him be productive when he’s out on the
court.”

The Suns cannot afford to keep playing a struggling
Morris, not if they hope to climb into the Western
Conference’s playoff picture. At the same time, though,
they can’t sacrifice the rookie’s development for the sake
of possibly landing the 8th seed.

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