The Los Angeles Clippers turned to the Morris family in their search for reinforcements at the trade deadline, pulling off a move with the New York Knicks to get Marcus Morris. Now, the Los Angeles Lakers, which are also searching for reinforcements in the Western Conference arms race, decided to get Marcus’ brother on their roster.
Word came out on Friday afternoon that Markieff Morris and the Detroit Pistons would come to terms on a buyout, making him the second player this week to receive a buyout from the squad alongside now-former point guard Reggie Jackson. But while Jackson decided to team up with Marcus on the Clippers, Markieff will ply his trade as a member of the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
OFFICIAL: The Pistons and Markieff Morris have reached an agreement to buy out the veteran forward’s contract. The Pistons have requested waivers on Morris.
All the best moving forward, @Keefmorris! pic.twitter.com/h7p44zTxyS
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 21, 2020
Markieff Morris plans to sign with Lakers, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 21, 2020
As Charania reports, Morris will slide into the Lakers’ frontcourt as a backup option at the 4, a move that will slide Kyle Kuzma down and give Los Angeles some more size on the wings.
Morris has been sold on a backup power forward role with the Lakers — with more minutes for Kyle Kuzma at the three now. Sets up Markieff vs. Marcus Morris in Los Angeles. https://t.co/iSIFzCy62F
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 21, 2020
Morris was in the midst of a solid year for the Pistons, averaging 11 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. He’s also connecting on a career-high 39.5 percent of his attempts from three, something that the Lakers could really use, especially as their in-arena foe spent the last few weeks bolstering its roster. There’s no guarantee we get a Clippers-Lakers series at some point this postseason, but if we do, we now know it’ll feature the Morris brothers on both sides of that battle.