Phoenix Suns: Grading The Markieff Morris Trade
By Ti Windisch
The Phoenix Suns finally dealt Markieff Morris, reaching a deal with the Washington Wizards close to the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline. How does the trade look for the Suns?
The Phoenix Suns have finally traded Markieff Morris, months after he tried to force his way out of Phoenix. Morris was traded to the Washington Wizards, who gave up quite a bit to get him according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears.
Phoenix has traded Markieff Morris to the Wizards, reports @ShamsCharania and @WojVerticalNBA.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2016
The Suns get a protected first round pick from Washington for Markieff Morris.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 18, 2016
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
Suns GM Ryan McDonough was smart to wait until now to deal Morris, who had almost no trade value earlier this season. Some reports even indicated Phoenix would have to include a draft pick or young player to get a team to take Morris.
As Zach Lowe reported back in December, teams wanted a young player like Archie Goodwin just to take on Markieff Morris.
Markieff's trade value is to the point that other teams are asking an asset -- Goodwin, for instance -- in exchange for taking him.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 24, 2015
Instead, McDonough managed to get a first round pick, along with Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair. Blair won’t contribute much to Phoenix, but Humphries is a fairly viable player.
The first round pick is the real prize here, though. According to Paul Coro, the pick will convey to the Suns unless it falls within the first nine selections.
The Suns traded Markieff Morris to the Wizards for a protected 2016 first-round draft pick. It is protected Nos. 1-9.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) February 18, 2016
The Wizards may not be a playoff team this season, but even with their glum start to the season, they’re sitting at 12th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Unless the Wizards get markedly worse over their remaining 31 games, it looks like Phoenix will indeed get their first round pick.
That’s in addition to the pick the Suns already have, which is currently slated at third overall. Phoenix could easily end up with two lottery picks this season, which would provide a big jump-start to the Suns rebuilding process.
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Honestly, this trade seems like a slam dunk for McDonough and the Phoenix Suns. Trading Morris earlier this season could have cost the Suns other assets, or at most not brought back this kind of return.
He had found success on the court under new Suns coach Earl Watson, but Morris was not suspected to hold much value in a trade. He asked for a trade from Phoenix this summer, and also is still dealing with a felony aggravated assault charge from an incident that took place last January.
It’s unclear if Morris will face trial in that case, but it’s not a positive to be involved in something of that nature while playing in the NBA, or at all for that matter. There are also locker room concerns with Morris, who hasn’t exactly been a model citizen in Phoenix.
But by being patient and refusing to buckle first, McDonough instead got a different team to take the short end of the stick. The two players coming to Phoenix may prove inconsequential, but that first round pick is an incredible return for Markieff Morris.
Related Story: 2016 NBA Trade Deadline Live Tracker
Morris is now Washington’s headache to deal with, while the Suns have another pick to add more young talent to their team. This one is a no-brainer to grade, considering how low Morris’ value has been since his tumultuous summer.