NBA fans have been waiting all week for the intoxicating craziness of the Feb. 18 trade deadline, when players fly from team to team so fast you can’t keep track and every time you refresh Adrian Wojnarowski’s Twitter feed, a new monster deal has gone down.
Well, Thursday’s deadline came and… Markieff Morris got traded.
Morris will move from the Phoenix Suns to the Washington Wizards in exchange for DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and a top-9 protected first-round pick, according to Yahoo! Sports’ The Vertical.
The Wizards send DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and future first-round pick to the Suns for Markieff Morris, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2016
Morris, unhappy in Phoenix as his recently traded brother Marcus thrives in Detroit, is having a down season, averaging 11.6 points per game on an abysmal 39.7 percent shooting.
Blair and Humphries are both inefficient reserve big men who will merely fill minutes for a going-nowhere Suns team. The real prize for Phoenix is the first-round pick, which has a strong chance to fall in the lottery.
It's bizarre to me that Markieff (mailed in a season) and D-Mo (barely played due to back injury) got 1sts, and T. Harris didn't.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 18, 2016
Washington, currently holding 10th place in the Eastern Conference, likely felt compelled to make a move after watching its competitors for playoff spots improve over the past few days. The ninth-place Detroit Pistons added Tobias Harris, Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton, while the eighth-place Charlotte Hornets traded for Courtney Lee. The Wizards are currently three games out of a playoff spot.
Though Morris will help Washington’s playoff push, sacrificing a first-round pick seems like a big risk.
Obviously could work out, Kieff has talent and can play the 5 too which I like. To me, too big a risk for price of a first-rounder.
— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/700409154968559616
The Suns signed Morris to a four-year, $32 million contract extension in September 2014. Last season, that looked like a fine investment as he averaged 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. But since his brother was traded to the Pistons, the 26-year-old became a malcontent that had to go, another lowlight in what’s been a terrible season in Phoenix.
#Suns trade Markieff Morris to #Wizards. Morris spoke the on way out. More tonight on @3TVSports & @CBS5AZSPORTS pic.twitter.com/YM47ZbKdDo
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) February 18, 2016
