Phoenix Suns: Assessing The Power Forward Situation

An Imminent Trade?

At this point in time, it’s hard to envision a scenario where Markieff Morris is in Phoenix past this Tuesday, when recently signed free agents from this past summer are eligible to be included in trades.

For one thing, despite Keef’s well-documented tension with the front office and the organization as a whole, Morris has been oddly professional and upbeat about his completely diminished role. After telling the world he was the team’s best player over the summer, he’s said all the right things about being benched for the likes of Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic.

Take a look at this angle from the Suns’ game-winner in Chicago. Notice how Morris is one of the first players off the bench celebrating, and how he looks genuinely happy despite being having every reason to be pissed off?

Maybe Morris’ struggles were so disheartening that he’s turned a page and understands his benching is for the good of the team. Or, maybe the Suns have already agreed to a trade under the table and that Keef’s only job now is to avoid doing anything that would screw up his public image and sabotage the deal.

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Already we’ve seen reports about the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans being interested in trading for Markieff Morris’ services. For two struggling teams, that sounds a bit like trying to douse a fire with gasoline, but in any case, Terrence Jones and Ryan Anderson have been mentioned as the focal points of potential deals.

Either one would be a welcome addition to the Suns with Keef struggling and unhappy in Phoenix, and some might even go as far as saying it doesn’t matter what the Suns get back in an addition-by-subtraction kind of move.

However, it’s worth mentioning that Jones is a restricted free agent and Anderson is an unrestricted free agent this summer, meaning that Phoenix would have to pay up to keep yet another power forward logjam intact.

In any case, a handshake agreement on a trade would certainly explain a few things, including Hornacek’s increasingly questionable explanations for why Keef hasn’t been earning any minutes — despite his insistence that the Suns need to get him going.

“It’s a tough one,” he said after another DNP-CD against the Portland Trail Blazers. “I don’t want to just put him out there for a few minutes here and there, so we have to find a way to get him back in the groove and in the rotation. So we just have to figure that out.”

Hornacek rationalized a few of the early benchings based on matchups with the frontcourts of the Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies, and also mentioned that with the team in a tailspin after the 2-4 road trip, something had to be done.

That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t explain why Cory Jefferson got first half minutes against the Blazers last Friday while Keef racked up another DNP-CD. At this point, you can see the weariness on Hornacek’s face when he fields questions about why Morris isn’t playing, almost as if he’s grinning and bearing it until an imminent trade can make this mess go away.

The Suns have two capable replacements on hand to make Keef expendable. Morris wanted out of Phoenix just a few months ago and those feelings probably haven’t abated by some miraculous internal conversion. The Suns learned last year how much of a headache Morris can be between his technical fouls, calling out the home fans and felony aggravated assault charges.

The two sides are in a prime position to part ways, especially since if the Rockets and Pelicans are actually interested.

Furthermore, the Suns have sweeteners to throw in a deal or make salaries match, such as Archie Goodwin (who has not played in the team’s last nine games with Booker playing so well) and Sonny Weems (who has not played in 15 games this year and was pulled aside by McDonough following Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves).

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 7

On Tuesday, a gigantic crop of players will become trade eligible, and it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest if a Markieff Morris trade was reported on that very day. With Keef struggling and entirely too comfortable with the whole messy situation, it feels as though it won’t be long before the Suns embrace Leuer and Teletovic as they undergo yet another roster shakeup.