Fansided

Markieff Morris takes a spin class with Rockets players

By Tom West

Feb 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris (11) reacts after drawing a charging foul against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at US Airways Center. The Phoenix Suns won the game 116-104. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris (11) reacts after drawing a charging foul against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at US Airways Center. The Phoenix Suns won the game 116-104. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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From his tweets to his exercise partners, Markieff Morris continues to disassociate himself with the Phoenix Suns this offseason.

It’s been several weeks since Markieff Morris made it perfectly clear that he wants to be traded by the Phoenix Suns, and over recent weeks he’s continued to disassociate himself with the franchise as much as possible. From declaring he wanted to leave in August, to his recent comments made on Twitter, Morris seems intent on speeding up the process of a trade; even if the Suns are not interested in doing so by the start of the season.

Back on August 13th, Markieff Morris said to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted out of Phoenix, due to how disrespected he felt after the way Phoenix handled the trade of his brother, Marcus, to the Detroit Pistons. To be precise, here are Morris’ comments:

"“One thing for sure, I am not going to be there. If you want to put that out there, you can put that out. I don’t give a [expletive]. I am not going to be there at all. That’s just what it is."

"I’ve got to show up. No question.” said Markieff Morris, who is scheduled to make $8 million this season. “You can’t do that. I will be a professional. Don’t get me wrong. But it won’t get that far. … I’m going to be out before then, should be.”"

This week, Paul Coro of AZCentral Sports has reported that while a host of Suns’ players have been working out at US Airways Center, Morris hasn’t been in attendance. Coro also pointed out the following:

"“The Suns need and want Morris. They would not stand much of a chance to replace him by trade. They would have no chance to replace him by free agency. They do not have an adequate existing roster option.”"

However, even if the Suns are not planning to move Markieff Morris before the start of the season, it’s apparent that he’s still considering other options, or at least disassociating himself with his franchise to prompt them to act quickly.

Most recently, Morris has been seen with a group of players from the Houston Rockets, as center Clint Capela revealed with a photo he posted on Twitter. Among the likes of James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley, Markieff Morris can be seen attending a spin class. Obviously this is only a minor incident and his potential destination is highly uncertain, yet it could indicate Morris’ possible interest in the Rockets, or perhaps moving to a contender in the Western Conference.

However, whilst you may be thinking “how is it even possible to tell that isn’t Marcus Morris?”, there is further evidence via Instagram. The director of the facility, Aaron Hines, posted a photo to Instagram and tagged the account of Markieff Morris. So, indeed, it still appears that he wants to do everything other than associate himself with the Suns and their own players.

https://instagram.com/p/7GEYcEom9d/

To further Morris’ quest to leave Phoenix, he tweeted last night in the most simple fashion possible that he wants out. As if the Suns hadn’t already got the message.

Regardless of the spin class, there is still no connection to actually tie Morris to the Rockets. On the other hand, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM suggested a couple of weeks ago that Markieff is interested in the Toronto Raptors as well as the Rockets:

"“And now he is prepared to do whatever it takes to force Phoenix to deal him. He likes Houston because of James Harden and Toronto because of Kyle Lowry, but he honestly doesn’t care where he gets dealt as long as he is not wearing a Suns uniform.”"

The Rockets may be a team that interests him, but as they are over the salary cap, they’d need to part with a top player such as Trevor Ariza or Corey Brewer in order to remove around $8 million in cap space to accommodate Morris. In that case, the Raptors could be a more feasible option. However, precisely as Gambadoro added, he probably doesn’t even care where he goes, as long as it’s not Phoenix.

Markieff Morris’ desperation to leave the Suns only seems to be intensifying. So, whilst they’re entirely aware of his discomfort, it looks like his best hope for them to act upon his desire to leave is to entirely disassociate himself with the team. He will need to show up to play when the season begins to still get paid, but if voices this much disgust to be there, maybe the Suns will be left with no other choice than to trade him soon.

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