Grade: C+
If we were judging Markieff Morris’ 2014-15 season solely by his performance on the court, this would probably be closer to a B. In his first season as a starter, Keef was pretty consistent until the trade deadline ruptured the roster. At that point, everything pretty much went to s**t.
But Morris was a bright spot for the Suns all season long on the offensive end. His game has developed so much on in that respect it verges on unbelievable. Remember the timid young player who was afraid to take open shots and couldn’t make anything?
That player is long gone, and in his place is an underrated power forward with a deadly midrange game and the ability to create his own shot at any time. He’s better on defense than people give him credit for, he played all 82 games this season and though he took his licks starting against the star power forwards of the West, he held his own better than most expected.
Unfortunately, even with all that improvement, Keef still might not be good enough on the boards to be a starting-caliber power forward in this league. And when you consider all the off-the-court issues and problems with his temperament, we’ve reached a turning point in his NBA career.
Does he have a long-term future with the Suns? It’s impossible to tell right now. Keef is only 25 years old, he’s still innocent until proven guilty, he’s on a steal of a contract for the next four seasons and if the Suns somehow got their hands on a star power forward, Keef would be unbelievable in a sixth man role.
But given what we know about Morris from the technical fouls and the asinine comments about the fan base, it’s hard to place too much faith in the results of these charges. It’s also hard to picture him being okay with downgrading back to a sixth man role if the Suns were to find a superior starter in his place.
“I think I took an OK step, but I can get a lot better,” he said. “I can improve a lot of areas in my game. This is my first full year of starting and I know what to look forward to next year in starting, getting better in back-to-backs and being a leader of this team. I’ve been here the longest, next year will be my fifth year and I have to continue to get better.”
You like to hear that out of a flawed player who wants to continue improving, but it may be out of his hands now. As a basketball player, Keef is an excellent scorer who’s only going to get better and despite his rebounding issues, his contract and clutch play more than makes up for it.
But when you consider the whole package, Markieff Morris’ 2014-15 season fell short of the success story it really should have been.
More 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades:
Jerel McNeal
Danny Granger
Brandan Wright
Earl Barron
Marcus Thornton
T.J. Warren
Archie Goodwin
Alex Len
Marcus Morris
Gerald Green
Reggie Bullock
P.J. Tucker
Brandon Knight
Next: Phoenix Suns: 10 Worst Moments Of 2014-15