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Sun(day) On A Monday: Marcus Morris, You Have The Suns Spotlight

By Spencer Hann

Mar 27, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris (15) dribbles against the Portland Trail Blazers at US Airways Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris (15) dribbles against the Portland Trail Blazers at US Airways Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Life On Planet Orange

1. World War III officially commenced between longtime Arizona Sports talk show host John Gambadoro and Marcus Morris several days ago and boy oh boy, it was MUST-READ DRAMA. If you missed it, make sure to check out the recap here.

My thoughts reading the venom and animosity that Morris CLEARLY has for the Suns were contradicting each other. I was surprised but not shocked, if that makes sense? Surprised at Morris’ bluntness and absolute disrespect towards Suns fans and the Suns as an organization, but not shocked at the fact that he chose to partake in such a childish tirade.

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Morris appears ignorant to the entire business side of the NBA (no buddy, you don’t get to play with your brother your whole career), ungrateful (the dude is still getting paid a damn good contract for his abilities, or lack thereof) and ridiculously stubborn (if you have a reputation as a cancer and a cry baby, it’s best that you try to change). If I’m the Detroit Pistons and this is the man that is supposed to mentor and work with prized first rounder, Stanley Johnson, I’m not exactly thrilled with Morris’ actions.

2. One tweet Morris did send, however, raised some eyebrows. And no, not in the “did this man go to grammar school” kind of way that his other redundant tweets instigated. Responding to a tweet that Markieff Morris was the only twin the Suns wanted, Marcus responded, “he won’t be there for long (laughing emoji)”.

Now, you could take this statement with a grain of salt and attribute it to the serious immaturity problem of Marcus Morris and his penchant to say very stupid things. Orrrr…you could take this statement as a serious leak of information. Still without contact since the trading of Marcus, it’s a very real possibility that the relationship between Markieff Morris and the Suns is fractured beyond repair. Either way, here are my top three favorite trades for the Suns to ship out what might be the last remaining locker room problem on the team:

  • Markieff and a couple of second rounders to Chicago for Taj Gibson. Phoenix gets another great locker room addition, a tough, gritty, hard-nosed defender on a contract that expires two years before Markieff’s, giving the Suns even more financial flexibility. A protected first from Phoenix could also be asked of in order to make this deal work.
  • Markieff to Orlando for Channing Frye and a lottery-protected 1st rounder. Welcome home, Channing! Once again, a serious get for the locker room, a player who knows his role in the Suns’ system and a deadly weapon for Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight pick-and-rolls. His contract is a little much, but three years and $24 million will look like chump change by the time next season rolls around.
  • Markieff to Atlanta for Tiago Splitter and a protected first rounder. I love Splitter and his upbringing through the Spurs’ system. He’s an incredibly smart big man who can and will make the right play, and a true professional and ultimate team player. I may even take this deal without the first rounder, as once again, all three of these deals are addition by subtraction.

3. One interesting thought I had when thinking back on Morris’ comments, did the Suns have a horrendous lack of leadership last year? Or, did they have a serious locker room issue that 80 percent of teams would find incredibly hard to fix? Think about it. In one corner you had the Morris’ twins, the ultimate clique of two, thinking they were bigger than the organization and trying to direct fellow teammates to look through the same lenses they did.

In another corner was a pissed off Goran “am I really going to stand around on offense all year” Dragic. In the locker across from him, an equally annoyed Isaiah Thomas sat, wondering why he wasn’t starting as the premier point guard on the team. Archie Goodwin wanted minutes, publicly stating “he did not know what the Suns were doing” in an interview after Reggie Bullock (another guard) was acquired for Shavlik Randolph (McDonough strikes again!).

That’s five, FIVE players on the team pre-trade deadline that publicly had problems. I’m quite sure those attitudes rubbed off on several other players (as that’s only human nature), creating the dysfunction we all witnessed a year ago. So did the Suns need leadership? Yes, absolutely, 100 percent. It could have made a difference last year and their newfound emphasis in bringing in locker room leaders will pay dividends this season.

But would it have made a huge difference last season, when Phoenix had AT LEAST FIVE players with attitudes towards the coaches and organization, unhappy about playing time or a combination of the two? Very tough to say.

If I Were Tyson Chandler This Week…

If I was Tyson Chandler for the week, I’m waking up this morning and calling Markieff Morris. I’m letting him know that he is either with the Suns or he is against the Suns (which he seems to be) and nothing in between. If I’m Chandler, I’m letting Morris know that there is one common goal on this team: Making the NBA playoffs. And his actions and silence from the Suns front office at the moment is not conducive to that mission.

I would let him know he has a great spot on this young up-and-coming roster and he can be a focal point of the offense with two big centers drawing in the defense this year. And guess what? If I’m Tyson Chandler, and I talk to Markieff and don’t like what I hear, Ryan McDonough and Lon Babby can be expecting my calls shortly, asking for a trade of the twin (if they aren’t working on that already).

I need full commitment for everyone on this roster as we head into training camp and if I can’t get that from Markieff or anyone else, they need to go. There’s a culture change coming to Phoenix, you can either get with it or leave. If I’m Chandler, this message is being delivered to Markieff sooner rather than later.

Suns Memory Of The Week

It’s ugly, but be grateful Suns fans. You won’t have to see it again. Considering this is the top search when typing in Marcus Morris’ name on the internet, it should give you an idea of his accomplishments in the NBA so far. Spoiler alert: There are none.

Tweet Of The Week

*Writer’s Note

Thank you for everyone that reads “Sun(day) On A Monday.” In the dog days of summer before the start of training camp there may not be much to go off of. So, if there are any questions you have or hypotheticals you want to present and hear my thoughts on, please comment them and I will answer them in a mailbag next week. Thank you readers!

Next: A Farewell To Marcus Morris

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