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Markieff Morris on playing for Suns: ‘I want to be here’

By Tom West

Sep 28, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris poses for a portrait during media day at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris poses for a portrait during media day at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Markieff Morris has had a dramatic summer, but he’s finally made it clear that he does want to play for the Phoenix Suns after all.

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In recent months, Markieff Morris did everything in his power to express that there was no way he wanted to be a part of the Phoenix Suns for the 2015-16 season. He wasn’t happy with how the team dealt with trading his twin brother Marcus Morris to the Detroit Pistons, and it created a flurry of attempts to hasten Markieff’s departure from the organization.

He demanded a trade and did everything he could on social media to proclaim that he wouldn’t be with the Suns for the start of the season. In case you’d forgotten, he tweeted this just a few weeks ago:

However, as it’s become totally apparent over recent weeks that the Suns were never going to deal with Morris’ trade request, he’s handled his obligation to join the team for training camp and is ready to put the disputes of the summer behind him.

Paul Coro of AZCentral has reported a recent comment of Morris, which shows how ready to move on he really is.

Seeing as Morris declared on Twitter at the start of September that “My future will not be in Phoenix,” the fact he’s now simply saying that “I want to be here” is a surprising turn of events. Not because Morris can’t act professionally at times, but because he really seems to have had a change of heart.

To add to Morris’ newfound intent to be with the Suns, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has reported that both the team and its young power forward are ready to make this situation work.

"Sources close to the situation said that the plan for now is to try and make this relationship work and let some issues play out. While Morris is expected to play a big role for the team this season, there is a belief that if Morris can resolve his legal issues, play well and stay out of the press, his trade value could come up and a deal that’s more to the Suns liking could materialize.Sources close to the situation said that both the Suns and Morris had a lengthy conversation, and both expressed a desire to try and make this situation work. Time will tell if the commitments made yesterday will truly play out for the entire season, but the sense from those involved is that Morris is on board. How long he stays that way remains to be seen."

So, by all accounts after NBA media day and in preparation for preseason, it seems like Morris and the Suns have come to a peaceful resolution. The interesting element of Steve Kyler’s report, though, is that if Morris proves himself in a big role, Phoenix may be more willing to trade him at a later date if they are able to get more in return.

If that’s the case, maybe Morris is so motivated to stay around because he knows that he can play towards getting a trade that otherwise he won’t be able to have. Regardless of how this situation pans out over the coming months, though, it looks like Morris can build upon his career year from 2014-15.

He started all 82 games and played 31.5 minutes a night to average career highs in points (15.3), rebounds (6.2), assists (2.3) and steals (1.2) per game. If you’re a Suns fan and want to enjoy the remaining half of the Morris twins duo, you can now look forward to Markieff potentially improving even further.

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