Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Marcus Morris

Suns Sign Morris Twins To Extensions

September 29th, 2014 at 9:17am CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have signed twins Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris to four-year extensions, the team announced. Markieff’s deal is worth a total of $32MM, while Marcus will see $20MM, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, who reported that the agreements had been struck (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported that the team was close to a pair of deals totaling $52MM (All Twitter links).

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix SunsBoth 25-year-old forwards will spend the coming season on rookie scale contracts that pay them nearly $6MM combined, split almost evenly, and the extensions will kick in for 2015/16. GM Ryan McDonough, in the team’s statement, expressed belief that both will continue to improve, pointing out that they’re just entering their primes, while president of basketball operations Lon Babby spoke to their unusual brotherly connection.

“We are particularly pleased to have reached extension agreements with Marcus and Markieff before the start of training camp,” Babby said. “There is an extraordinary bond between these twin brothers; they make each other better players and better men. We take pride in their growth and look forward to their bright futures.”

Markieff earned the larger deal, having been more productive in his playing time last season. He averaged 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game, all career highs. Marcus put up 9.7 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 22.0 MPG, though he was significantly better from behind the arc, shooting 38.1% compared to Markieff’s 31.5%.

The deals for the Leon Rose clients are somewhat surprising, since most players who ink rookie scale extensions do so for eight-figure salaries, or close to it. Still, there are occasional examples of teams and players who’ve come to terms on extensions for even smaller amounts, including Quincy Pondexter‘s four-year, $14MM deal with Memphis last year and the three-year, $9MM extension that Kosta Koufos signed with the Nuggets in 2012.

The past week has seen the Suns invest heavily in their future. They struck a new five-year, $70MM deal with Eric Bledsoe, but even so, they still had only about $32.5MM in commitments for next season, leaving plenty of room for reasonable deals with both Morrises.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Lowe’s Latest: Salary Cap, TV Deal, Burks, Morris

September 16th, 2014 at 10:45am CST by Chuck Myron

Teams around the league are projecting that the salary cap will leap to as high as $80MM for 2016/17, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes, but next season’s salary cap is shrouded in uncertainty. Executives from around the league believed earlier this summer that the NBA would gradually phase in the increase in the salary cap with a larger than usual uptick next summer, but the league has told teams within the last two weeks to hold steady on their projections for 2015/16, according to Lowe. The uncertainty makes it more difficult for teams to make long-term commitments at this point as the October 31st deadline for rookie scale extensions looms. The focus of the Grantland scribe’s piece is on that rookie scale extension market, and his entire piece is worth a read to juxtapose his insight with our in-depth pieces on some of the same up-and-comers featured in our Extension Candidate Series. Lowe also has a few more newsy tidbits, as we’ll pass along here:

  • There’s chatter around the league suggesting that the NBA will backload its new television deal, which is expected to be more than twice as lucrative as the current arrangement that runs out after the 2015/16 season, Lowe reports. The aim would be for the league to negotiate the ability to keep a larger percentage of that media rights revenue for itself in the next collective bargaining agreement with the players union.
  • Executive around the league see Alec Burks as a sixth man rather than a starter, according to Lowe, who argues that there’s a case to be made to the contrary. Still, it bodes well for the Jazz‘s leverage in extension talks.
  • Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris told teams before the 2011 draft that they would take less money to play together, sources tell Lowe. That didn’t end up happening right away, since Houston drafted Marcus and Phoenix took Markieff, but the Suns reunited the twins at the 2013 trade deadline, and if their desire to stick together still holds true, that gives the Suns the ability to exert some pressure, Lowe surmises. Both are extension-eligible.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: LeBron, Warriors, Mavs

July 6th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors could have dealt Harrison Barnes to the Magic for Arron Afflalo and a future first-round pick, a source tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Twitter).  The Warriors passed, but such a deal would have eased losing Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade.

More from the west:

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Cunningham, Suns, Abdul-Jabbar

March 3rd, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Welp, this figures to be a fun MVP race.  In case you were leaning towards the likes of Kevin Durant or Chris Paul, LeBron James re-stated his case tonight in a big, big way.  The Heat star put up a career-high 61 points on 22-33 shooting, 8-10 from three-point range, with seven rebounds, and five assists.  LeBron bested his previous career-high of 56 (2005 against the Raptors) and blew past Glen Rice‘s franchise record of 56 points.  Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..

  • Former Oregon State star Jared Cunningham says he plans to sign with an NBA team this week, writes Conner Letourneau of The Oregonian.
  • The Morris twins will be eligible for contract extensions in the fall and both players are hoping they’ll be with the Suns, together, for the long-term, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.  “The game is more fun when I have my brother. I look forward to it every day. look forward to getting better. I look forward to watching him get better and I know he looks forward to me improving and having good games. I’m excited when he plays good, even when I don’t play good. If I see him scoring and all the small stuff to win, I’m excited and that brings me up no matter what,” Markieff Morris said of playing with brother Marcus Morris.
  • Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he’s interested in returning in some capacity to the Bucks, writes Andrew Wagner of the Associated Press.  “If I get a call, I will definitely offer my services,” said the Bucks’ career leading scorer with 14,211 points. “There’s nothing on the table right now. A couple of people have asked me and if I had the chance to be part of this franchise again, I would take it.“
  • If Dwyane Wade continues to play at his current level and helps lead the Heat to another championship, there won’t be much negotiating when it comes to his contract, writes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders.  Wade recently re-iterated his desire to stay put in Miami to David Aldridge of NBA.com.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Zwerling On Randolph, Anderson, Gordon

December 12th, 2013 at 1:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

The latest dispatch from Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling is chock full of rumors. Let’s dive in:

  • The Grizzlies are shopping Zach Randolph, with Ryan Anderson of the Pelicans as the primary target, Zwerling reports. Memphis wants to see Ed Davis continue to develop, and that may help push Randolph out the door. The Pelicans would have to add salary to such a deal to make it work, and Zwerling mentions Austin Rivers as a possibility, noting that he’s dissatisfied with his lack of playing time and is open to a trade.
  • A source tells Zwerling that he believes the Pelicans will trade Eric Gordon at some point this season.
  • Zwerling hears conflicting reports on whether a rumored Kenneth Faried/Iman Shumpert swap is a possibility for the Nuggets and Knicks, but he says the Knicks are currently reluctant to move Shumpert.
  • It’s unlikely the Suns trade either Marcus Morris or twin brother Markieff Morris, according to Zwerling.
  • The Sixers would trade Evan Turner for Dion Waiters “in a heartbeat,” a source tells Zwerling, though Cavs owner Dan Gilbert reportedly doesn’t want to trade his shooting guard. The Sixers are worried about what Turner may command in restricted free agency this summer. The Suns could be another landing spot for Waiters, Zwerling writes.
  • Courtney Lee, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries are on the market in Boston. The Celtics offered Avery Bradley a four-year, $24MM extension this fall, but the guard turned it down, looking for a deal with annual salaries of $8MM.
  • The Rockets “adore” D-Leaguer Troy Daniels, Zwerling writes. Daniels is displaying a three-point stroke to go with his 25.1 points per game.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pacific Notes: Bryant, Morris Twins, Warriors

November 28th, 2013 at 11:08pm CST by Charlie Adams

Chris Paul exited early from the Clippers’ Wednesday night game against New York, but Broderick Turner of the LA Times reports that Paul plans on playing and starting in Friday night’s divisional match up versus the Kings. Sacramento currently resides in the cellar of the Pacific Division, but the Kings are hoping that recently acquired Derrick Williams will help turn their fortunes around. Let’s take a look at a couple tidbits from the Pacific..

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Morris Twins, Draft, Asik, Butler

November 20th, 2013 at 11:12pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

As tonight’s action on the court winds down, a few notes around the league off the court.

  • The Morris twins, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris, have played on the same roster their entire lives, sans one and a half NBA seasons. However, Suns president Lon Babby revealed to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports that if it were up to him, the twins never would have been separated. The Suns drafted Markieff in the 2011 NBA draft and had it not been for such a high price tag, would have also traded for the draft rights to Marcus on draft night. Babby and the Suns believe the synergy of the brothers is “extraordinary” but reminded the twins prior to exercising both of their options this offseason that this unique opportunity comes with expectations.
  • Looking forward to upcoming draft nights, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the Knicks and Nets, who both fell to 3-8 tonight, do not have a bright future if they continue to lose. Both teams are without a first-round pick in the 2014 draft, so losing won’t even better their chances of a franchise player next season.
  • Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld believes (Twitter link) the Rockets are asking a high price for Omer Asik and a Mavericks‘ package of Shane Larkin and Shawn Marion would not be enough.
  • According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Bulls will be without guard Jimmy Butler for at least two weeks due to turf toe suffered Monday against the Bobcats.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Suns Pick Up Options On Plumlee, Morris Twins

October 26th, 2013 at 3:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have exercised their 2014/15 options on center Miles Plumlee and forwards Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Markieff Morris will make $2,989,239 next season, slightly more than his twin brother Marcus, who’ll earn $2,943,221. The option covers the fourth season for both Morrises, while Plumlee’s $1,169,880 option is for his third, as our rookie contract option tracker shows.

Plumlee has impressed in the preseason after arriving over the summer via trade from the Pacers, and his improvement made the Suns more comfortable with trading Marcin Gortat to the Wizards. Marcus Morris also came to the Suns in a trade, as the Rockets shipped him to Phoenix at the deadline in February. Houston drafted him 14th overall in 2011, one pick before the Suns took his brother at No. 15, which accounts for the slight difference in salary between the two.

The more than $7.1MM the exercised options add to Phoenix’s books still leave the team with ample projected cap space next summer. The Suns will have only about $22.1MM in commitments for 2014/15, about $40MM beneath the cap.

 

 

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Brooks, Morris Twins, Raptors

March 2nd, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Saturday evening:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Coach K, Howard, Harkless, Rookies

February 26th, 2013 at 10:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

A roundup of the latest news and notes from around the NBA on Tuesday evening:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts