Looking Into the Marcus Morris Trade for the LA Clippers
- Updated: February 9, 2020
The LA Clippers beat the trade deadline clock in their acquisition of Marcus Morris and found a way to fix what was not broken. Morris was the pick of a good chunk of people to make the Clippers a more complete team, and the Clippers front office made it happen without sacrificing nearly anything. General manager Lawrence Frank worked his magic yet again.
In this three-team trade, the LA Clippers sent Moe Harkless and a 2020 first-round pick to the New York Knicks alongside some swapping rights for the 2021 draft, and to complete the deal, they sent Jerome Robinson to the Washington Wizards in return for Isaiah Thomas. Much to the chagrin of some Clippers fans, the team waived Isaiah Thomas and sent him packing, but their new jewel of a player will indeed debut with the team today. Let’s take a quick look at what his upsides are.
Starting his career off as the fourteenth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Morris has moved around quite a bit in his eight years. He was drafted by the Rockets, sent to Phoenix, had short stints in Boston and Detroit, and then spent half the year with the Knicks before becoming a Clipper this past week. His frequent movement might deter some fans, but the numbers don’t lie. He is averaging 19.6 points this season, and he is on pace to bust any of his point records from previous seasons wide open. Some might even call this his prime, and it will be spent in a Clippers uniform. Outside of his offense, he is an absolute dog on defense.
Yet another elite rebounder that the LA Clippers can call their own, Morris has contributed to 2747 rebounds throughout his career, and he is either going to set up a play on the defensive side to cash it in, or he will just do it himself on the offensive side. He has a basketball brain that helps him destroy at power or small forward, and it serves him well in situations where someone needs to come up big. His big stature and towering demeanor also help to make him a scary defender as well. He gave the Clippers plenty of trouble the last time he met them as a Knick, but now he looks to help them as part of the team.
In his last meeting against the Clippers on 1/5/20, he dropped thirty-eight points with five assists and five rebounds. He had some trouble in the free-throw department, but Morris was almost enough to lead the Knicks past the Clippers. New York fell just four points short of getting that win, and it shows how much Morris can do individually for a team. Imagine the power he will have guarding with such a potent Clippers defense. The big man next to the board man is a thing of beauty.
In summary, the LA Clippers got Marcus Morris at the trade deadline, and they are now a much better team because of it. All they had to rid themselves of were a few more draft picks and two of their bottom players to get another 19.6 points per game alongside a fantastic rebounder and a scary defender. What is not to like about this situation? Yet another piece of magic work by Lawrence Frank and his helper in Jerry West. Marcus Morris will make his Clippers debut today against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 4:30 pm PDT at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio.
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