After sitting back and watching other playoff contenders like the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets improve their teams prior to the deadline, Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld could feel the pressure mounting on him to get a deal done before the 3 p.m. trade deadline. Not only did he get a deal done, but Grunfeld brought in a potential star in Markieff Morris.
The Wizards send DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and future first-round pick to the Suns for Markieff Morris, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 18, 2016
I’m sure that a number of people will argue with my assessment of Morris being a potential star, but hear me out. Since he’s been in Phoenix, Morris has only played more than 30 minutes per game in one season which was 2014-15 when he averaged a career-high 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. This was while playing with a combination of Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic in the backcourt, none of whom are true point guards.
Morris will now get to play with John Wall, who is third in the NBA averaging 9.9 assists per game. In addition, his only competition for playing time is going to come from Nene Hilario and Drew Gooden who are nowhere near Morris’ talent-level. Not only will the influx in minutes help his production increase, but playing with Wall will give him numerous pick-and-pop and pick-and-roll opportunities which should take his game to the next level.
With a healthy Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter, Morris and Wall, the Wizards suddenly have one of the best starting lineups in the Eastern Conference and should be knocking on the door of the playoffs in no time.
