Markieff Morris Wants Out of Phoenix

[Randolphkeys]

Markieff is certainly a talent on offense and grabbing rebounds, however this "toughness" thing doesn't seem to translate to the court. A simple glance at his shot attempts and shooting percentages will leave some questioning how he fits in Blatt's offense. Looking at defensive numbers will really leave a hoops fan with doubts.

Nylon Calculus is a must-read website, in my opinion. They keep advanced metrics which translate very well for big men defending.

Chief Kieff has been a bottom quarter of the NBA rim protector in 2014 and 2015. Some players have fluctuations, like Thompson and Cole Aldrich, but with Markieff he is consistently bad. This year, Leuer, Teletovic, and Len are all outperforming Morris in advanced defensive stats. I believe his teammates performances eliminate the possibility this is a scheme problem.

So while Markieff has been a volume scorer with questionable offensive efficiency, his defensive numbers are even more damning.

 

[Lyuokdea]

Markieff is certainly a talent on offense and grabbing rebounds, however this "toughness" thing doesn't seem to translate to the court. A simple glance at his shot attempts and shooting percentages will leave some questioning how he fits in Blatt's offense. Looking at defensive numbers will really leave a hoops fan with doubts.

Nylon Calculus is a must-read website, in my opinion. They keep advanced metrics which translate very well for big men defending.

Chief Kieff has been a bottom quarter of the NBA rim protector in 2014 and 2015. Some players have fluctuations, like Thompson and Cole Aldrich, but with Markieff he is consistently bad. This year, Leuer, Teletovic, and Len are all outperforming Morris in advanced defensive stats. I believe his teammates performances eliminate the possibility this is a scheme problem.

So while Markieff has been a volume scorer with questionable offensive efficiency, his defensive numbers are even more damning.

I don't disagree with any of that. But just a few questions/notes:

1.) How much of the lack of effort/ball movement is motivated by his unhappiness in Phoenix. Is that a fixable problem for Morris (like it was for JR Smith?) or is unfixable (like a Lance Stephenson situation)?

2.) If he wasn't a headcase, you wouldn't get a player with his talent level, in exchange for the non-existent assets we have. If you are basically trading the trade exception - you won't get a player without warts. Are his warts better for the Cavs than other available players?

3.) Given that we aren't going to get a player without problems - and given that we are playing pretty well this year (though certainly not at the level we could be playing) -- do we want to make a move at all?

 

[Randolphkeys]

Markieff Morris is going to average 8 million per year for this season and the three following seasons. That is a staggering financial commitment that has little to do with the low risk JR Smith contract.

 

[Snarly]

Markieff Morris is going to average 8 million per year for this season and the three following seasons. That is a staggering financial commitment that has little to do with the low risk JR Smith contract.

The thing is he fits a need but is he worth it as Bron has been known to work with head cases but this guy... It's a major risk but he has talent.

 

[K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's]

Would trade Tristan for Morris in a heartbeat if Morris didn't have that huge personalty question mark.

Although I can't see this happening because Tristan is Lebron's boy, and Lebron was the one saying Tristan should be a Cav for life ect....

 

[Lyuokdea]

Markieff Morris is going to average 8 million per year for this season and the three following seasons. That is a staggering financial commitment that has little to do with the low risk JR Smith contract.

Honestly that's like MLE money in the last two years of the contract.

Also the Lance Stephenson deal shows that even ridiculously bad contracts are still pretty easy to trade...

 

[David.]

Quick look at Morris but he's a negative on the court.

Tristan is one of six plus players for the CAvs.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Honestly that's like MLE money in the last two years of the contract.

Also the Lance Stephenson deal shows that even ridiculously bad contracts are still pretty easy to trade...

A quick review of every move Griffin has made supports my statement. Every single one.

 

[Lee]

Markief is a cancer and is fools gold on offense. He is a volume shooter and a minus defender.

but yes, his contract is not bad, so there is one positive, but who cares, dont want a cancer on this team.

 

[gourimoko]

Quick look at Morris but he's a negative on the court.

Tristan is one of six plus players for the CAvs.

Was he negative last-year and the year before that?

 

[spydy13]

I think it would be wise for us to pickup another shooting PF in case something happens to Love again. I really don't want our scheme to fall apart again just because of an injury.

Morris for the TPE and Joe Harris for a 2nd is probably a pretty realistic trade, I'm just not sure if Gilbert is willing to add another big contract this year. Maybe he would force it to be Andy and Joe for Morris, but I would be sad if Andy wasn't around to see this thing through even if his role is null right now.

Mirza Teletovic is another stretch 4 option from Phoenix that might be attainable and would interest me. He's way cheaper too (1 year, $5M).

 

[gourimoko]

I think it would be wise for us to pickup another shooting PF in case something happens to Love again. I really don't want our scheme to fall apart again just because of an injury.

Morris for the TPE and Joe Harris for a 2nd is probably a pretty realistic trade, I'm just not sure if Gilbert is willing to add another big contract this year. Maybe he would force it to be Andy and Joe for Morris, but I would be sad if Andy wasn't around to see this thing through even if his role is null right now.

Mirza Teletovic is another stretch 4 option from Phoenix that might be attainable and would interest me. He's way cheaper too (1 year, $5M).

I'm not opposed to using the TPE on Morris.. The worst thing that can happen is he doesn't play for us. If he's truly a cancer, we could tell him to stay at home..

I'd rather use the TPE on Morris than let it expire and get nothing for it. So, count me in... at least, until someone identifies a player worth more than Morris that could be had for as little as the TPE.

 

[spydy13]

I'm not opposed to using the TPE on Morris.. The worst thing that can happen is he doesn't play for us. If he's truly a cancer, we could tell him to stay at home..

I'd rather use the TPE on Morris than let it expire and get nothing for it. So, count me in... at least, until someone identifies a player worth more than Morris that could be had for as little as the TPE.

We do still have plenty of time to use it though. I think it expires at the end of August 2016?

But you're right that it's rare that decent players come along that can be had for nothing other than cap savings. We don't exactly have the draft assets to improve the pot for teams.

 

[gourimoko]

We do still have plenty of time to use it though. I think it expires at the end of August 2016?

But you're right that it's rare that decent players come along that can be had for nothing other than cap savings. We don't exactly have the draft assets to improve the pot for teams.

That TPE's value diminishes greatly at the trade deadline. Remember, the cap will continue to rise in dramatic fashion over the next few seasons, making a $10M TPE less and less valuable.

If we're going to use it, the time to use it is now.

If Morris were to return to form, he'd be a valuable trade asset again and we'd have flipped the TPE into a net-positive return. If he doesn't return to form, then we're at a financial loss until we can dump his contract.

In my view, it's a no-brainer to pick him up if he makes a commitment to playing within our system.

 

[David.]

Was he negative last-year and the year before that?

He was .8 positive last year.. moz was +10