Los Angeles Lakers: Was signing Markieff Morris the right decision?

The Los Angeles Lakers signed Markieff Morris because they believe he provides roster versatility, but is that really the case?

Have you ever acquired an item meant to solve a particular issue, but you find out that it is not the right item to fix the problem? If so, you can sympathize with the Los Angeles Lakers, who signed Markieff Morris in their quest to create a roster with more versatility.

According to the OCRegister, the team views Morris as a player who can be both a wing and a big giving the team more flexibility when it comes to their lineups. But is Morris truly the versatile player Los Angeles makes him out to be?

More from Hoops Habit

• 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
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Perhaps not. Morris is a player who thrives in the low post as his best year came when he averaged 7.5 post-ups per game during the ’14-15 season. The post-ups allowed him to create 4.2 points for the team every night. The post-ups were responsible for 27.4 percent of his total scoring output, as he averaged 15.3 points per game.

At first glance, the Los Angeles Lakers seem like a perfect fit for Morris as they rank second in the league in post-up possessions averaging 14.7 per game. Unfortunately, LeBron James and Anthony Davis account for 89.8 percent of those possessions, as they average 13.2 post-up possessions per game.

Consequently, Morris is spending the majority of his minutes off the ball, in the role of floor spacer as 50 percent of his shots have come from behind the arc in the first two games as a Laker. Unfortunately, Morris isn’t suited to thrive in the role over the long haul as his biggest weakness is shooting.

He has shot 35.3 percent on catch-and-shoot threes over the last six-plus seasons. His subpar performance on catch and shoot threes has played a vital role in him shooting 34.6 percent from behind the arc during his career.

Subpar shooting has allowed his defender to leave him wide open when he’s off the ball to provide help defense all over the court. Therefore, Davis and James must worry about an extra defender  when they have the ball.

For example, late in the first quarter of his Lakers debut, Morris stood in the right corner as James posted up Lonzo Ball on the other side of the court.  As a consequence, his defender (Nicolò Melli) ran over to help Ball stop James from scoring against him in the low post. The double team incentivized James to hit a cutting Kyle Kuzma with a pass culminating in a layup.

If the Lakers want to maximize the effectiveness of Morris, they will have to convince James and Davis to give up some of the post-up possessions so that Morris could spend some time in the post.

Convincing Davis and James and to yield some of the post up possessions will open up another can of worms, as they would have to spend more time in the role of floor spacer. Unfortunately, just like Morris, their biggest weakness is shooting, as they have shot 31.6 and 34.4 percent respectively from behind the arc during their careers.

Consequently, defenders will leave them open when they are off the ball to provide help defense elsewhere, potentially on Morris, who is in the post. In conclusion, the partnership between Morris and the Lakers should end up being underwhelming because of how the team is going to use him.