Phoenix Suns: The Markieff Morris Saga Gets Even Weirder

What Happens Next?

So here we are, fighting this unmistakable feeling that Markieff Morris’ days in Phoenix are numbered despite his recent return to the lineup. On the one hand, perhaps Hornacek really did bench him for the good of the team and was sincere when he said the Suns needed to get him going again.

Perhaps Friday night’s game was Hornacek making good on that promise and trying to get him back on the right track. Maybe Keef really does know how bad he was playing and has kept a positive attitude this whole time, knowing that his time would come when he could help the Suns get back on the right track to the playoff hunt.

More from Hoops Habit

• The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout

Perhaps McDonough would rather hold on to Keef and the valuable three years remaining on his contract at a bargain price rather than deal for Jones (a restricted free agent this summer) or Anderson (an unrestricted free agent this summer), who would only provide another logjam at the 4 anyway.

But there’s also the possibility that there is a deal in place and that it’s with the Houston Rockets. That would mean it almost certainly involves Brewer to make salaries match, so until Jan. 15 rolls around, we may continue to see inconsistent minutes for Keef off the bench despite the fact that at his best, he would easily be this team’s starting power forward.

If he’s meant to stay, great; that means Friday was a step in the right direction since the Suns really could use his defense and one-on-one scoring ability to make the playoffs. But if he’s meant to be traded, the next month will become a tightrope act between getting Keef minutes to keep him fresh for his new team, while also avoiding playing him too much if he’s hurting the team and/or to prevent an injury that would ruin the deal.

Next: Every NBA Team's Star Wars Counterpart

It’s still hard to shake the uneasy relationship between Morris and the Suns, but we’ll have plenty of time to speculate about which of these two scenarios is really unfolding over the next month. In the meantime, you can expect to see Keef back in the rotation a bit more often, but hopefully not enough to hurt the team if he continues to struggle the way he has this season.