Oh hey look at who showed up for the first day of training camp in Phoenix. It’s disgruntled power forward Markieff Morris. Morris was in attendance in Phoenix when Suns training camp opened on Monday and even told Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that he wanted to be there.
Markieff Morris: "I want to be here." He said he doesn't want to talk about the past (summer issues with the Suns). pic.twitter.com/AAMf7xVQmY
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 28, 2015
Say what? In case you weren’t following this summer, Markieff, twin brother to Marcus Morris, wanted a trade outta town after the Suns unceremoniously traded his twin to Detroit without a head’s up beforehand.
After he sounded off to a Philadelphia reporter, he just kept going, saying “my future will not be in Phoenix,” before subtweeting the Suns when he mentioned never accepting apologies — presumably on behalf of his twin bro.
But now that he’s in camp, where he’s contractually obligated to be, Morris is singing a different tune, and didn’t want to get caught up in the not-to-distant past.
“I’m looking forward to the season, not really trying to look at the past,” Morris said on Monday. “I don’t really want to talk about what I did in the summer. I really want to look forward to this up-and-coming season. Glad to be back with my teammates and glad to be back with the team.”
When he was asked about the summer comments, Kieff said “It’s between us and we’re going to deal with it.”
The rest of the Suns fell right in line when asked about Morris on Monday, just like they did last media day after Eric Bledsoe finally signed a deal following a summer where he accused Phoenix of deliberately sabotaging his restricted free agency.
Chandler on Markieff: "I think all this stuff will be behind him. This isn't the first time a player had miscommunication with management."
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 28, 2015
Eric Bledsoe on Markieff Morris: "I guess people got misled about him as a teammate … He's a great teammate. He's like my brother."
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 28, 2015
Even coach Jeff Hornacek said the team would bust his balls for a little bit, but that would be it.
Hornacek on Keef: "Guys will give each other crap for a day or 2. Then it's not thought about again. I don't think there's a problem there."
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 28, 2015
General Manager Ryan McDonough did address the original cause of Kieff’s beef, but the Suns will continue to make decisions about players without notifying them, or their kin, before they make a personnel move.
McDonough on not alerting Morrii of trade: "We don't run it by them to get their opinion. That's not something we have done … "
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 28, 2015
So ends another Suns summer saga where everything turns hunky-dory on day one of camp.
