Marcus Morris May Have Screwed Spurs Out of Davis Bertans for No Reason
By Michael Luciano
Former Boston Celtics power forward Marcus Morris was set to be the next Spurs big man in line who shoots 18 footers all game when he signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the team. With the expectation that Morris' 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game were on the way, GM RC Buford sent sharpshooting forward Davis Bertans, who was sixth in the NBA with a 43% 3-point percentage, to the Washington Wizards.
The Spurs might have jettisoned their Latvian deadeye for no reason, as Morris is now considering ditching the Spurs for a one-year deal with the New York Knicks.
The Spurs traded Davis Bertans to the Wizards with the expectation they were going to have Marcus Morris. https://t.co/G6o8hwpdt7
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) July 9, 2019
The Knicks, after missing out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, brought in a bunch of quality veterans like Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson and Reggie Bullock.
And now after reworking Bullock's contract, the Knicks have enough space to go after Morris.
If the Spurs fail to keep him, their frontcourt depth behind LaMarcus Aldridge will be nothing short of shambolic.
#Knicks are reportedly interested in a deal with forward Marcus Morris, who is re-considering his 2-year, $20 million agreement with the Spurs.
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) July 9, 2019
Re-working Reggie Bullock's contract would free up money for the Knicks to sign Morris. https://t.co/lVBP1TzrXn
This is one of those rare free-agent deals where everyone loses. The Knicks already have too many cooks in the kitchen, so Morris would merely add another player who will demand shots, while the Spurs could be out either a starter or valuable second unit piece after they shipped one of their key players to the Eastern Conference for essentially no return.