Report: Teams asking for additional asset in trade for Markieff Morris
Dec 24, 2015, 2:48 PM | Updated: 3:35 pm
Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The Markieff Morris saga continued on Wednesday when Morris threw a towel at head coach Jeff Hornacek during Wednesday night’s 104-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The team responded on Thursday, suspending Morris for two games.
The latest Morris buzz has led to further trade speculation and ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe reports that just Morris would not be enough for a team to take on in a trade.
Markieff's trade value is to the point that other teams are asking an asset — Goodwin, for instance — in exchange for taking him.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 24, 2015
While Morris is currently having the worst season of his career, the value in the power forward is still clear.
The Kansas product was a starting-caliber power forward in the NBA the past two seasons, averaging 14.6 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game while providing above average defensive play.
The big kicker for Morris’ trade value is his contract, which just started this season at $32 million for four years. With the NBA’s cap potentially rising to over $90 million next summer and escalating beyond that, players far worse than Morris will be making much more money than him.
As Lowe notes, that value is why the Suns won’t rush to deal Morris despite the issues.
Suns rightfully won't do that. But it feels like the team just needs a shake-up of some kind in the next couple of weeks.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 24, 2015
That shake-up is certainly coming after the month the Suns have had. They are 4-10 in December, with their most recent loss coming to the 12-17 Nuggets, who were playing their second game in two nights and were without five players due to injury.
The Suns schedule does not bode well for those against a shake-up. After a Dec. 26 home game against the Philadelphia 76ers, they close out 2015 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Then comes a challenging January and even more difficult February. 17 of the Suns 24 games in those two months come against teams with a winning record.
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