Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Teams That Should Trade For Markieff Morris

By Gerald Bourguet

Dec 21, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) sits the bench in the final second of their 110-89 loss to the Utah Jazz at vivint.SmartHome Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) sits the bench in the final second of their 110-89 loss to the Utah Jazz at vivint.SmartHome Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
NBA
Nov 29, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) goes to the basket against Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (54) at Air Canada Centre. The Suns beat the Raptors 107-102. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Toronto Raptors

The struggles of Patrick Patterson have not gone unnoticed, and even with the Toronto Raptors still sitting at third in the Eastern Conference standings, some slight roster tweaking might be needed to finally get this team over that first round playoff hurdle — especially if DeMarre Carroll‘s knee injury prevents him from returning this season.

If Toronto decides to make a move to vault themselves into that upper echelon in the East, perhaps investing in a talented offensive player like Keef would be a wise move, especially since he’s on such a bargain contract for the next three years.

Morris won’t spread the floor much better than Patterson has this season, since his 33.3 three-point percentage is actually a slight downgrade from Patterson’s 34.0 three-point percentage. It’s also worth noting that Patterson is something of a fan favorite and fills his role well despite a major downtick in scoring this year.

However, in a different environment, Keef would have plenty of motivation to top Patterson’s similar field goal percentage (38.2 percent) and he’s already averaging more points per game (10.1 to 6.1) despite playing fewer minutes.

This is the kind of high risk, high reward move the Raptors might think about to take the next step in aiming for something higher than what their ceiling currently is — an Eastern Conference finalist.

From the Suns’ perspective, Patterson has one year and $6 million left on his contract, so he’d provide some type of insurance for Leuer and Teletovic. However, since Patterson is not exactly on a lot of people’s radars as a quality NBA player, and since he’s been slumping this season, the Raptors might need to throw in draft compensation of some kind.

Next: No. 3