As Markieff Morris addressed the Phoenix Suns media for the first time since publicly demanding a trade, he spoke with a much different tone than he had just a few weeks earlier when he vented to his hometown newspaper.
“I’m looking forward to the season, not really trying to look in the past,” he said at Suns Media Day on Monday. “I don’t really want to talk about what happened this summer, I just want to look forward to the upcoming season and I’m glad to be back with my teammates.”
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When asked if he still wanted to be traded, he replied, “I want to be here.” Morris deflected subsequent questions about how his conversation with the front office went, saying, “That’s between us, and we’re going to deal with it.”
Over the summer, the Suns traded away Keef’s twin brother and best friend, Marcus Morris, to the Detroit Pistons. It was a move designed to clear cap space for free agent LaMarcus Aldridge, with Phoenix also sending away Danny Granger and Reggie Bullock in the process. The Suns wound up finishing second to the San Antonio Spurs in the Aldridge sweepstakes.
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Following the trade, Keef held his silence until opening up to the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying that he wouldn’t be in Phoenix to start the season. Though he acknowledged that he’d be a professional and show up to training camp if he remained on the roster, Morris said it wasn’t going to come to that.
At Suns Media Day, Keef took on a completely different stance, focusing solely on the team’s playoff hopes this year and his own improvement as a player.
“I’ve gotten better every year I’ve been in the league and I’m going to continue to get better with or without my brother,” he said.
Keef expressed excitement (or his own version of excitement, at least) to play alongside Tyson Chandler in the starting lineup, said he was “super confident” about clearing up his current legal situation and promised that the Suns would make the playoffs to end their current five-year drought.
“The ultimate goal is to make the playoffs,” he said. “It’s not about me, it’s about my teammates and the organization and we’re looking forward to a great year and hopefully we make the playoffs this year.”
When asked if he had had a conversation with Tyson Chandler, Keef simply replied, “Yep.”
On the one hand, it’s terrific news for the Suns that Morris is focused on building chemistry with his teammates and getting Phoenix to the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Even if the Suns had a capable replacement on hand, trading Morris right now would be a nightmarish proposition, since Keef’s trade value has never been lower.
The Morris twins are currently facing two charges of felony aggravated assault and though Keef improved on the court last season as a starter, he had the second most technical fouls in the NBA, he publicly called out the fan support after a double-digit loss to the Spurs and just a few weeks ago, tweeted that his future would not be in Phoenix — a tweet that has not been deleted still.
My future will not be in Phoenix.... #thatisall #backtothegrind #FOE
— Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) September 4, 2015
With every team in the NBA knowing that Morris wanted out, no potential suitor would have been willing to offer the Suns a fair deal. General manager Ryan McDonough and head coach Jeff Hornacek maintained that they wanted Markieff Morris to be their starting power forward and that the team would not trade him.
By not caving to Morris’ demands, the Suns held the upper hand. Keef is entering the first year of his four-year, $32 million contract with the Suns and if he had held out, the team could have just suspended him without pay. It never came to that, and no matter what was said during that conversation between the two sides, it appeared they left the meeting on the same page.
Whether that page is simply putting up a false front remains to be seen. It wasn’t long ago that Keef tweeted this out about forgiveness, after all:
My FOE @tyshawntaylor said it best... pic.twitter.com/45fi7BLIXJ
— Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) September 10, 2015
It’s entirely possible that the Suns leveled with Markieff and let him know that all his public complaining was killing his trade value. Only by taking a united stance with the Suns and playing terrific basketball for a few months will salvage it at this point. If Keef still wants to be traded in the future, this was the way to go about it.
Morris declined opportunities for one on one interviews at Suns Media Day and seemed withdrawn, for obvious reasons.
Photographer asked Markieff to do a prop photo (insta cutout or cape). He shook his head "no" before agreeing on this pic.twitter.com/ifkOkmSTJ7
— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) September 28, 2015
But when he was at the podium, Keef admittedly said all the right things, either for the good of the Suns or for the good of his trade value. Only time will tell which one it actually was.
Next: Phoenix Suns: 5 Burning Questions For Media Day