Washington Wizards: How Markieff Morris proved he is key to future success

Markieff Morris had arguably the best season of his career throughout the 2016-17 season and plays a key role in the Washington Wizards’ future.

Markieff Morris, the former first round 13th pick overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, started his career with the Phoenix Suns. At the completion of his fourth season and starting a full 82 games, he also became the next rumored distraction and bad apple in the locker room.

However, before the Washington Wizards acquired Morris, former teammates were quick to vouch for the hard-nosed forward.

According to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post in February of 2016, Marcin Gortat had this to say about the situation.

"“’In my opinion, it was blown out of proportion,’ said Gortat, who played with Morris for two seasons — 2011-12 and 2012-13 — in Phoenix. ‘Listen, this guy is emotional. I’m not saying he’s a quiet kid. Yeah, he’s kind of a spicy kid. Kind of an aggressive kid. From time to time he’s aggressive. But this is what we need. You want to have a good basketball player and you want to have a guy who’s going to go out there and is going to compete. And I think he’s going to be a great addition to this team.’“‘This guy is going to come face to face with somebody else if somebody is going to foul me or John [Wall] or anybody else. He’s going to go and challenge a guy face to face. And this is what we need. We need this guy, who’s going to stand up for his teammates and he’s going to fight. I’m quite sure Markieff is going to do that.’”"

For anyone who may have missed this past 2016-17 season, this statement may as well have come from a crystal ball.

Proving his worth

Markieff Morrishas completed six seasons since coming into the league. Throughout his career, he’s posted consistent numbers without much fluctuation. His marks for his career to date are 11.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with a field goal percentage of 44.7.

While the Washington Wizards have John Wall and Bradley Beal becoming an elite scoring duo, Morris has proved to be crucial on an ever-improving team.

This past season he noticeably improved his ability to hit from long range. Reaching his career high three-point percentage over 82 games this past season at 36.2 percent, the Wizards’ options to attack the basket can only increase.

While he is commonly regarded as a solid shooter from midrange, Morris complements his style with grit and aggression in the post. He can slam it down with absolute authority against some of the more elite forwards in the league.

Considering he is also the fourth scoring option out of the Wizards starting five most nights, he is simply effective when called upon.

Playoffs and looking toward the future

This was the first year Morris got a taste of the NBA Playoffs, and he performed well. Physicality became the theme throughout and it spilled over from their series against the Atlanta Hawks into conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

More from Hoops Habit

Markieff Morris played through what appeared to be a possible broken ankle during the Wizards series against the Celtics during Game 1. Although he returned for Game 2 and played through the ankle injury for the remainder of series, the Wizards ultimately fell short, losing Game 7.

Through 13 postseason games, Morris made solid contributions on both ends of the court. Averaging 12.1 points per game and 6.4 rebounds, he also recorded over one block per game.

On the topic of durability, this is a non-issue for Morris. During his 448 career games spanning six years, he has started 287 of them. You would have to look back to his rookie season to find a year he played in less then 70 games.

Going forward, it is reasonable to say Markieff Morris may be due for a breakout season. Any issues in the past of being a troublemaker have no evidence of returning.

Next: 5 takeaways from the 2017 NBA Finals

Although Markieff Morris is not the sole star of the team, he has proved to be key for the Washington Wizards’ future success.