Why Washington Wizards Found The Right Power Forward In Markieff Morris

Despite his off-court issues, the Washington Wizards have found a power forward that fits into the modern system in Markieff Morris

Markieff Morris is the first potential knucklehead the Washington Wizards have added to the roster since they exiled Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee, Nick Young, and Jordan Crawford early into the John Wall era.

At the time the trade was seen as either a sign of desperation, or as a smart investment in a player whose value was at its nadir.

It is easy to see where the “sign-of-desperation” crowd was coming from.

On the surface Morris is an inefficient, mid-range shooting power forward who doesn’t rebound. He quit on the Phoenix Suns, insulted their fans, threw a towel at head coach Jeff Hornacek, and shoved his teammate, Archie Goodwin, on the bench.

Last week “Chief Keef,” was detained at the Philadelphia airport because someone in his party had weed in their bag.

Morris, who has felony charges in his past, certainly seems to take a lot of risks for someone who makes eight million dollars a year. And the Wizards gave up a lottery pick for this guy.

All that said, I’m 100 percent in on Morris.

He won me over in the two months after the trade deadline, one alley-oop at a time. He brings an edge back to the team, which Paul Pierce and Nene used to provide, but was lacking this year. He’s young, athletic, has a beard, and fits nicely with the Washington Wizards’ core pieces.

What went down in Phoenix:

Everyone knows the story by now so I’ll try and keep it brief.

Morris emerged as sixth-man for the 2013-14 Suns team that started the season as an assumed tank-job and finished as a 48-win team just one spot away from the playoffs.

He finished that year with a PER of 18.4 and as third on the team in total points scored, eventually finishing fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

That summer he and his twin brother, Marcus Morris, told the Suns to make them an offer for their combined services and then they would split the money up themselves.

Washington was the right team to take the risk:

And that bring us to the Washington Wizards.

Ernie Grunfeld and Ted Leonsis took a calculated risk in trading what became the 13^th pick for Morris, and they were right to do it.

Before the trade the Wizards only had four players under contract for the 2016-17 season. With all hell set to break loose when free agency starts on July 1^st, it was huge to get a player locked up in advance.

The Wizards had the absolute worst power forward rotation in the league to start last season.

Kris Humphries was asked to run and gun and Jared Dudley faced a perpetual mismatch on defense and the glass. If Morris is even average, he is an upgrade.

His small contract allows the Wizards to still have room for a max free agent this summer.

Cutting into that cap space was a deal-breaker for any trades. Morris is an impact player and his deal lasts through 2019. I’m not sure Grunfeld could have found another player who fit those criteria.

The Wizards are also hoping that the institutional stability they’ve built up the past few years will help keep Morris’ antics in check (did I really just write that?). They have a leader in John Wall, a winning coach in Scott Brooks, and they expect success.

Finally, Wall is entering his 7^th season and, quite frankly, the Washington Wizards don’t have any more time to be patient.

Morris is a power forward for the new NBA:

Versatility is Morris’ biggest strength. Zach Lowe, in his September Grantland column, “The Curious Case of Markieff Morris,” said,

“Lots of power forwards can do two of these three things on offense: post up (particularly against switches and small-ball mismatches), shoot 3s, and make productive passes off the dribble. Very few can do all three.”

Lowe has long been fascinated by the place of the “play-making four” in the new NBA. That is a player who can play against traditional lineups and small-ball lineups on both offense and defense. Draymond Green is the proto-type.

This year’s playoffs have shown the importance of a player who can fill this role.

Fit with the roster:

Now that he’s in D.C., Morris joins a playoff-tested roster that can cover for some of his weaknesses while also accentuating his strengths.

He should improve his scoring efficiency as the Wizards’ third or fourth option after usually being the second or third (or first) option in Phoenix.

Morris went from scoring 58.5 percent of his field goals off of assists this year in Phoenix to 76.1 percent in Washington. Wall will keep getting him looks.

Morris’ low rebounding numbers are more of a concern than his efficiency.

Morris is listed at 6’10″ but has a career average of just over five rebounds per game (career high 6.2 in ’14-15). But the Washington Wizards are kinda used to it after years of Nene averaging five rebounds a game, and the hope is that Otto Porter’s long wingspan can compensate for Markieff Morris’ short one (that’s how it works, right?).

On offense, Kieff hasn’t played with a roll man like Marcin Gortat since he played with…. Marcin Gortat in Phoenix.

Gortat’s rolls to the rim will create open jumpers for Morris while the threat of Morris as a shooter will make defenses hesitant to help on Gortat’s rolls.

In a big development, young Bradley Beal started taking more off the dribble threes this year. If he can continue improving that part of his game, a Beal/Morris pick-and-roll will be interesting.

If Beal’s defender can’t go under the pick, Beal can slip a pass to Morris on a short role to create a pseudo 4-on-3 situation where Morris can make a play.

Morris’ ability to create his own offense is also critical for a team that stretched John Wall’s scoring ability to its breaking point. He is at least is the type of player who can catch the ball with the shot clock winding down and get off a decent look.

Defense:

Morris has been lambasted for his defense in the past but won Washington Wizards fans over with his defense on Carmelo Anthony in a March matchup with the Knicks.

Morris held Melo – who has always seemed to take a special joy in bullying Otto Porter, his usual cover – to 20 points on 21 shots in a win.