It is no longer a rumor when the Los Angeles Lakers officially brought a big man named Markieff Morris for the rest of the season.
Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced the contract that has been signed between the club and Markieff Morris. The terms per team policy for this deal were not released but the Lakers surely used $1.75 million Disabled Player Exception they received after Cousins tore his ACL before the season for this contract, according information from W88 Partner.
After liquidating the contract with the Detroit Pistons and completing all procedures, Marcus Morris officially docked at Staples Center. In the opposite direction of his twin brother, Markieff went to the Los Angeles Lakers to play for the yellow and purple team until the end of the season.
Marcus has shared the happiness with his brother. “That’s my brother man,” Morris smiled. “Man, if he goes to LA, then shit, I’m gonna be in Staples Center all the time. I think maybe to y’all it might be weird that I’m going to all his games, but that’s what’ll probably happen. And we’ll probably get a house together,” Marcus continued. Signed with Los Angeles Lakers, Markieff Morris will have the opportunity to play against his twin brother. Now, the derby of Hollywood will become more special than ever. Speaking for the potential showdown between the two L.A. teams, Markieff was excited about the competition between him and his brother. “We’re two competitive guys, that’s gonna be like really fun,” he said
This is the exception allowed by the NBA after the Lakers submitted an application to expand the salary fund, in the case of DeMarcus Cousins having retired from playing the whole season due to ACL (disabled player exception).
Markieff Morris turns 30 years old this year. He is a player who has the ability to create points and also a forward with good defense skills. Markieff averaged 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in about 22 minutes for each game he played with the Detroit Pistons. Besides, the veteran forward just landed in the Lakers is having the best 3-point shot percentage of his career with 39.7% 3PT.
Markieff’s skill pack is quite diverse, but the most outstanding is the ability to score points and rebound. He is the type of player who can play from the bench and score 20 points in any game. With his good fitness, Morris is the person who can create scoring opportunities on his own, besides being able to shoot at a fairly good accuracy. This will be a valuable addition to the Los Angeles Lakers’ squad, especially when they still need a bigman to make room for LeBron James and Anthony Davis when needed.
In the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineup, their flaw was in the reserve when coach Frank Vogel hadn’t found a stable scoring option since the start of the season. With the addition of Markieff Morris, he will have the perfect piece next to current players like Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard, Alex Caruso or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Over the past 2 months, the Los Angeles Lakers have been trying to find the pieces to reinforce their defense and improve their shooting accuracy. However, LA’s options that were ignored or failed to reach agreement included Marcus Morris, Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder or Bogdan Bogdanovic. They also missed Darren Collison, who was considered perfect to play the reserve PG role but ultimately decided not to return to the NBA. With Markieff Morris, the LA Lakers will have a player who meets some of the above requirements and in addition, he also has enough experience to play in the Playoffs and occasionally be put into the starting lineup when necessary.
