I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.
Sorry, I was channeling my inner Markieff Morris for a second.
Things have been weird between he and the Phoenix Suns for a while now. The team traded his brother, Marcus, to the Detroit Pistons, and both of the Morris twins are facing felony aggravated assault charges.
Now Markieff wants a trade himself, and he’s going to great/odd/childish lengths to push one through, per Phoenix-area radio host John Gambadoro:
According to @Gambo987's sources, Markieff wants out. He wants nothing to do with the #Suns. Won't talk to players or staff. #NBA
— Burns and Gambo (@BurnsAndGambo) August 6, 2015
More on this in a second. But do note that this isn’t the first time it’s been reported over the last few weeks that Markieff wanted a trade. Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post painted a similar picture in July, even adding that Suns coach Jeff Hornacek and his stretch 4 don’t get along:
Hearing the Suns are trying to deal Markieff Morris, who has an affordable 8M/yr deal. He and Hornacek don't get along, plus Marcus is gone.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 6, 2015
OK, back to Morris refusing to speak with the Suns. It’s stupid, if true. Sure, he can let his agent handle the nitty-gritty of the trade request, but if the team is trying to speak with him, he shouldn’t be pulling the Jersey Shore dip. He’s under contract for the next four years and, as a non-star, has virtually no leverage in the matter—especially with his value at an all-time low.
We saw what off-court issues did to Ty Lawson’s trade value. The same applies to Morris, even if less so. And as a less-established player, he’s not netting the Suns a first-rounder of any kind, as Lawson did for the Denver Nuggets. Beyond the off-court warts, there’s the appearance of this temper tantrum. Suitors aren’t going to mortgage the farm for a player capable of freezing them out.
It is, however, fair to question the Suns’ part in all this. Relations soured between them and Isaiah Thomas, and between them and Goran Dragic last season. Marcus Morris is also on record lampooning them as well. Now we have Markieff. And while it seems naive to blame them for such drastic discourse, this, again, isn’t the first time over the last six months someone has so obviously pouted in an attempt to leave Phoenix (see: Dragic).
Something has to give in this situation, otherwise it’s doomed.
With the way it’s headed now, for the record, it’s safe to bet on it being doomed.
