Markieff Morris is currently not a very happy man. His twin brother Marcus was traded to the Detroit Pistons earlier this offseason and the two twins have made it clear they didn't like the way the Phoenix Suns handled it. About a week ago it was reported that Morris was not talking to anyone from the Suns organization or teammates and now he has reportedly demanded a trade, according to Keith Pompey of Philly.com.
Markieff has made it clear since his brother was traded that he has no desire anymore to be in Phoenix and has basically guaranteed that he won't be a member of the Suns next season.
"One thing for sure, I am not going to be there, if you want to put that out there, you can put that out, I don't give a [freak]. I am not going to be there at all. That's just what it is," said Morris.
Morris seems very confident that he won't be a Sun next season but the situation is a little more complicated than he's making it seem. Markieff signed a four year $32 million extension with the Suns last season that is set to kick in this season and while he is a very good player, that big of a contract may be difficult to move at this point in the offseason. Typically teams are trying to shed payroll this late in the offseason, not bring more on so a trade might not be that easy.
Aside from being traded Morris' other option would be refusing to play but that would allow the Suns to suspend him without pay and that is something he is not considering doing.
"I've got to show up. No question, you can't do that. I will be a professional. Don't get me wrong. But it won't get that far, I'm going to be out before then, should be," said Morris.
Morris is clearly extremely confident he is going to be traded but that may just be wishful thinking at this point. Besides the contract Morris has also had trouble with the law recently and reportedly he and his brother have caused trouble in the locker room so there may not be many teams willing to take him on especially after this huge scene he is causing.
The Morris twins have tried to make it clear that they aren't upset with the Suns because they won't be playing together, they are upset at the way the organization handled it. The Morris twins said they took pay cuts to remain in Phoenix last season and were leaders in the locker room but the way they handled the trading of Marcus Morris was disrespectful. The twins reportedly found out about the trade while they were vacationing out of the country and Markieff didn't appreciate that the Suns didn't give him a warning.
This saga is far from over at this point as Morris has no leverage here but really wants out of Phoenix. We will have to wait and see if the Suns try to trade him or if they just hang on to him and try to work things out.
