Markieff Morris might have finally played his last game for the Phoenix Suns. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the disgruntled power forward has been suspended two games for throwing a towel at head coach Jeff Hornacek.
The Phoenix Suns have suspended forward Markieff Morris for two games for throwing towel at coach Jeff Hornacek, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 24, 2015
When told during game that he nailed Hornacek in leg, Morris told teammates he hadn't intended to hit coach. Two games, no pay for Morris.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 24, 2015
The Arizona Republic‘s Paul Coro has more on the incident, which reportedly took place during Phoenix’s loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
With 9:47 to play and Denver leading 84-75, Morris was taken out of the game and he threw the towel while barking at Hornacek. Hornacek picked up the towel and threw it back Morris’ way with his own upset words for him.
Morris first grew crossways with the Suns when they traded his twin brother, Marcus, in a salary dump for the chance to sign LaMarcus Aldridge. He initially demanded a trade from the franchise immediately following his sibling’s departure, and refused to back off that ultimatum over the next two months, too.
But Morris finally came around on a future in Phoenix at media day, insisting he didn’t “want to talk about the past.” The 26-year-old was notably disengaged on the court over the season’s first month, however, prompting Hornacek to make a change in the starting lineup at the beginning of December – and even bench a healthy Morris for seven games.
Interestingly, this latest incident took place after the Kansas product had been reestablished as a part of Phoenix’s rotation. Morris averaged 16.3 minutes per contest over the Suns’ past four games, scoring 7.8 points and shooting a dismal 33.3 percent from the field.
Even as Morris stressed a desire to remain in the desert long term just before training camp, a trade still seemed the most likely outcome of this strange saga. And following a suspension gleaned from physical contact with his coach, it’s now only a matter of time until Morris continues his wayward career elsewhere.
(Via The Arizona Republic)
