The Suns have had an eventful offseason and seen a ton of roster turnover from last season. Now they bid farewell to yet another member of last year’s group as backup point guard Monte Morris signs with the Indiana Pacers. Morris would have been a fine addition to the Suns’ current depth chart and the team may regret his departure.
Monte Morris: Veteran backup point guard
Crucially, Morris plays a very important role where the Suns lack depth. He’s a veteran at the backup point guard spot that is now going into his 9th NBA season at age 30. Morris appeared in 45 games off the bench for the Suns last season, and played about 13 minutes per game.
Morris isn’t a game-changer who will completely take over a game by himself. But he is a solid game manager who rarely makes mistakes (just 0.5 turnovers per game last season). He’s also a formidable shooter in his overall career with an average of 39% from deep and 47% from the field, but these numbers dropped to 36% from deep and 43% from the field last season.
Morris would have been a perfect mentor and backup option to Jalen Green at point guard. Green needs to learn to slow his game down and pick his spots more often wisely, which is what Morris has been doing for his whole career. Despite not being an explosive athlete, Morris has stuck around this long in the league by making the right decisions and shooting or passing in the flow of the offense.
Despite being a smaller guard at 6’2” and 183lbs, Morris also holds his own on defense with good positioning and consistent effort. He had one of the best individual defensive ratings on the Suns last season, and could have taught Jalen Green the ins and outs of defending point guards.
The Suns do have other players who they hope can fill the playmaker role in bench lineups, such as Collin Gillespie. But it’s always nice to have a steady veteran coming off the pine when your starter is an eccentric youngster.
Morris is just the latest of many Suns to leave the team after last season’s disaster but his departure leaves more of a void than others. The Suns’ positional need for someone of his skillset is obvious and leaves further questions about the team’s roster construction. But even beyond that, Morris’ calm playstyle and demeanor will be missed for a team that has often seen turmoil in recent times.