The New York Knicks need to sell high on Marcus Morris while they still can

Marcus Morris is in the midst of a career season, which is why the Knicks should sell high on him ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

New York Knicks forward Marcus Morris is in the midst of a career season, recent sexist comments notwithstanding. The 30-year-old is averaging a team-high 19.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 triples while shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point range, the fifth-best mark league-wide among qualified shooters.

Morris, who’s on a one-year, $15 million contract, could be a valuable piece for a contender to acquire ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Alas, it appears as though the Knicks plan on keeping him for the rest of the season — and perhaps beyond! — which again suggests they have no idea how to conduct a proper rebuild.

On Saturday, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher reported the Knicks, “already laden with draft picks and young players, consider the 30-year-old veteran more valuable than anything they could acquire at the trade deadline.” Two days later, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported the Knicks “seem hell-bent” on keeping him, while ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added a bit more context about their stance heading into the deadline:

According to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the Knicks want a “lottery-level first-round draft pick” in exchange for Morris. Since teams on the fringes of the playoff chase shouldn’t cough up a first-rounder for a possible rental, the Knicks aren’t likely to find anyone willing to meet that asking price.

They’ve only weakened their leverage in the days leading up to the deadline, too.

According to Ian Begley of SNY, “At least one team in touch with the Knicks recently was left with the impression that Morris and New York have strong mutual interest in reaching an agreement in free agency this summer.” As such, “teams interested in Morris will probably be less likely to make a significant offer to New York since the chances of that team re-signing him are diminished,” Begley noted.

Considering Morris has been one of the Knicks’ few bright spots in an otherwise dismal 14-36 season, their desire to keep him makes sense to some extent. They can at least feign competitiveness on most nights with him in their lineup, whereas they would be hands-down the worst team in the NBA without him.

In early January, Begley reported that “some members of the Knicks organization believe Morris has long-term value with the club,” adding: “They have been impressed by his play and his leadership during the season and see him as a valuable player in the team they’re hoping to rebuild.” (Note: That report came before Morris accused Jae Crowder of having “female tendencies on the court.”)

However, it’s long past time that the Knicks embrace the reality of their situation: They’re in the early stages of a ground-up rebuild, and they need to acquire as many young players and draft picks as they can. Fetching either for Morris would be far more valuable than keeping him around for the rest of the season (if not longer).

Back in mid-December, Begley polled NBA executives to see what the Knicks might be able to land in return for Morris if they did decide to trade him. One representative for an Eastern Conference team responded: “You can easily see them getting a late first-round pick for him if that team feels Marcus pushes them over the top.” However, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported in mid-January that “a minor Morris deal that would net a late-first-round pick and force them to take on a non-expiring contract is not an attractive option at this juncture,” as the Knicks “prefer not to diminish their 2020 or 2021 cap space in any deal.”

That stance is comically misguided.

The 2020 free-agent class lacks top-end talent outside of Anthony Davis, who is likely to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Brandon Ingram, for whom the New Orleans Pelicans hold matching rights. Beyond that, it’s mostly win-now veterans on the wrong side of 30 along with a handful of intriguing mid-to-late-20s targets (Fred VanVleet, Davis Bertans, Montrezl Harrell, etc.).

But when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving spurned the Knicks for the crosstown Brooklyn Nets this past summer, it should have been yet another wake-up call for team owner James Dolan and New York’s front office.

“I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players who, in their lifetime, don’t remember the Knicks being good,” Durant said in a radio interview in early October. “… It’s like the cool thing right now is not the Knicks.”

Despite being in a glamour market, the Knicks are not a marquee free-agent destination at the moment. They’re one of the few teams poised to have significant cap space this summer, which could make them the beneficiaries of a buyer’s market, but will any of those players turn them into legitimate playoff contenders (much less title hopefuls)? Almost certainly not.

When the Knicks struck out on Durant and Irving, they wisely maintained their long-term financial flexibility by signing veterans such as Morris, Reggie Bullock, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson to one- or two-year lightly guaranteed deals. However, they’ll get nothing out of those players other than another sub-.500 season if they don’t trade them for assets at some point.

Flipping them for bloated, multiyear contracts would hamper their free-agent flexibility this summer, but they could also demand a higher return for giving teams cap relief. Since some young players will inevitably bust, it’s imperative for rebuilding teams to acquire as many bites at the apple as possible. They also need to give those players enough minutes to take their lumps and develop rather than burying them on the bench behind veterans who don’t factor into their long-term plans.

Instead, the Knicks entered this season with playoffs-or-bust expectations, according to Begley, which speaks to how detached they are from reality. Refusing to deal Morris at the deadline — or doubling down by re-signing him in free agency — would only further cement the notion that the Knicks have no idea to how properly rebuild.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Early Bird Rights.