Our exit interview series on the 2024 Clippers continues with he-who-shall-not-be-named, former power forward Marcus Morris.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 218 pounds

Position: Power Forward

Age: 34

Years in NBA: 13

Key Clippers Regular Season Stats: Zero games played (3 DNP-CDs)

Expectations

More than any other player on the Clippers’ roster entering the 2024 season Marcus Morris was not expected to play much if at all on the team during the season. His large expiring salary was instead expected to be used as a trade chip, whether for James Harden or some other player to add some juice to a moribund Clippers team. After a horrible last half of the 2023 season and sniping with fans on social media, Morris’ time on the team was clearly ticking to an end.

Reality

To the relief of fans, Morris was indeed out of the rotation for the first few games of the season. And then, like the rest of the Clippers’ forward rotation, he was sent to Philadelphia for James Harden. Somewhat surprisingly, he was actually a part of Nick Nurse’s rotation for much of his time in Philadelphia, playing 37 games for the Sixers and starting seven of them while shooting well from three.

But then, at the deadline, Morris was traded again, this time as part of a three-team deal that sent him to San Antonio. The tanking Spurs had no use for Morris, and so bought him out so he could join a playoff team. No true contenders came calling, but the Cleveland Cavaliers needed shooting off the bench, and Morris joined them late in the season. Morris played 12 regular season games for the Cavs as well as appeared in 9 playoff games. He was mostly awful in the playoffs, with the notable exception of his last appearance, Game 5 against Boston, where he scored 25 points on 10-13 shooting and 5-6 from three. It was a good final audition for Morris going into the summer, though the rest of his playoff showings were far less impressive.

Future with Clippers

Marcus Morris has probably done just enough to get a guaranteed veteran minimum deal from a playoff team this summer. He’s a hefty forward who can hit threes at a good percentage on decent volume, and while all theoretical defense and shot creation is gone, shooting with size will be considered useful deep in rotations for some teams.

I can’t imagine, however, that team will be the Clippers. Not after the way things ended for Morris in LA, with him taking shots at fans, and being pushed fully out of the team’s plans, and complaining about his lack of role. And even if he wanted to come back, the Clippers need to get younger and more athletic and dynamic. Morris offers none of that. Nico and RoCo at least provide defense and glue-guy stuff, which the Clippers could use, but even they are not really what this team needs. Morris will almost certainly have to find a deal for the last year or two of his career on one of the other 29 teams in the NBA.

2024 Clippers Exit Interview: Marcus Morris
Robert Flom

Our player preview series for the 2024 Clippers concludes with Marcus Morris, the team’s formerly starting power forward and current pariah.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8″

Weight: 218 pounds

Position: Small forward/Power forward

Age: 34

Years in NBA: 12

Key Stats: 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds per game on 42.6/36.4/78.2 shooting splits across 65 games in 28.1 minutes per game last year.

Contract status: Final year of his 4-year $64M contract with the Clippers, worth $17,116,279 for the 2023-24 season.

Expectations

Although he started every game for the Clippers last year, the expectation this entire off-season has been that Marcus Morris wouldn’t be on the roster entering training camp.  With a sizeable expiring contract, and following an underwhelming season where he had Clipper-career-lows in points, rebounds, and three-point efficiency, Marcus seemed destined to be filler in a trade for a big name.

He was briefly included in the Malcolm Brogdon trade that got nixed, which has led to some cryptic comments, an awkward unfollowing of the Clippers Instagram account, and a mysterious absence from off-season dinners/workouts hosted by Russell Westbrook. For what it’s worth, he did show up for Media Day.

But frankly it’s anyone’s guess as to what role he’ll play on the team. He’s still a veteran presence and leader in the locker room, so barring a lineup change that shifts Kawhi to the 4, there remains a chance that Morris will remain the Clippers’ starting Power Forward.

Strengths

He’s a year older and a step slower, but Marcus has locked in a very consistent bag of scoring moves. While lacking in efficiency these days, he’s still got utility as a release valve at the end of a botched possession, as someone who can get their shot off over pretty much any defender and remain generally unfazed.

Of course, Marcus’ primary weapon is his long ball. He’s been streaky the last two years, but before that he was leading the league in three-point percentage for most of the season 2020-21, ending up #2 overall, with a ridiculous 47% from deep. Although that was an outlier, he’d breached the 40% mark before and has shown flashes of that brilliance here and there, so it feels like he still has potential to get back to elite levels if he remains healthy.

Morris is also one of the more vocal leaders in the locker room, and with quiet and even-tempered superstars in Kawhi and PG, it’s been kind of a necessity. Now that Russ has seemingly taken over the mantle, perhaps Marcus isn’t needed as much in this role now.

Lastly, Marcus has shown time and again that he can be one of the most very reliable defenders in the NBA—as long as he’s guarding Luka Dončić.

Weaknesses

Of course when he’s guarding anyone else, it’s a completely different story. He’s slow-footed and frequently gets beaten by guards that hunt him on switches. In the post he’s physically solid and tough to move, but he’s just not long enough to bother athletic scorers that can just go over him.

Offensively Marcus avoids the paint, or really dribble-drives of any kind, like the plague, and he is never one to push the ball. For a team allergic to paint and transition scoring, his tendencies are a little too redundant.

These days, most of his offense consists of low-percentage middies and the occasional spot-up three. If he can get back to shooting over 38% from deep, it takes a LOT of pressure off of the rest of this game and he can focus on being an enforcer that has the ability to be an emergency bail-out option.

Even for a tweener 4, Morris puts up appalling rebounding numbers. He’s got one of the worst rebounding rates in the league. That being said, there’s a silver lining. As Law Murray once pointed out, the Clippers’ best rebounding lineups actually include Marcus Morris. It’s kind of backwards that the Clippers rebound better as a team when their worst rebounding forward is on the floor, right? Well, if you think about it long enough it starts to make sense: being physical down low opens things up for guys like Terance and Russell to come flying in for the board.

Summary

With all of these trade rumors swirling, at least we’ve got some good vibes quotes from Marcus during training camp:

Which is good because the roster is damn near full in its current form. With 9 players that are essentially locks for rotation minutes, we’re left with Nico Batum, Robert Covington, and Marcus Morris competing for that last spot.

Will he join the 4 starters?

Will he get benched for Nico or RoCo?

It’s hard to say at this point. We just don’t know.

But what we DO know is that if he DOES start, it will drive Rob nuts and that’s VERY entertaining to the rest of us.

2023-24 Clippers Season Preview: Marcus Morris Sr.
Erik Olsgaard

The 2023 NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone, but it got me thinking about the Marcus Morris trade, one of the biggest deals the 213 era Clippers have made. As someone who was vocally against the deal at the time and has been far from the biggest Marcus Morris fan over the years, here’s a look back at the deal and how my thoughts on it have changed over the years.

The Trade Itself

The Clippers Sent Moe Harkless, 2020 1^st Round Pick, 2021 1^st Round Pick Swap Option, and Detroit’s 2021 Second Round Pick to the Knicks and Jerome Robinson to the Wizards

The Knicks Sent Marcus Morris to the Clippers

The Wizards sent Isaiah Thomas to the Clippers and Issuf Sanon to the Knicks

What’s Happened to the Pieces

Marcus Morris – Morris didn’t play great for the Clippers in the 2020 regular season, but was hot from three in the playoffs despite the Clippers’ bubble collapse. He was then re-signed to a four year, $64M deal by the Clippers and has been with them since. Over his 3.5 seasons with the Clippers, Morris has played in 183 games, 155 of them starts (he didn’t start for a while in the 2021 season due to Nic Batum’s play, but has not ceded the starting role since) as well as 32 playoff games (all starts). Next year will be the last year of his deal.

Moe Harkless – Harkless played 12 games for the Knicks, 10 of them starts, and was solid enough. In the 2020 offseason, he signed a deal with the Heat, but didn’t play much for them, and was traded mid-season to the Kings. Harkless played 26 games for the Kings, 20 of them starts, and brought some competent defense, but still no three-point shooting. He re-signed with the Kings in 2021, and played 47 games for them last season, with 24 starts. Last summer, he was traded several times, and ended on the Rockets, at which point he was waived. Harkless hasn’t played yet this season and could still be picked up, theoretically – he has played 96 games since the Clippers trade, with 57 of them being starts.

Jerome Robinson – Jerome, the Clippers’ prized 13^th pick in the stacked 2018 draft, played 21 minutes for the Wizards down the stretch of the 2020 season, received his largest and most consistent minutes to date. He wasn’t especially good, but did look something like an NBA player. Unfortunately, after entering 2021 as a potential rotation player, Robinson was awful, and was consigned to the end of the bench for most of the season until he was waived in April. Robinson currently plays as a starter for the Santa Cruz Warriors, and is playing ok – but still can’t make threes. Turning 26 in just four days, Jerome could possibly still appear in the NBA, but all of the upside is long gone.

Isaiah Thomas – Thomas was almost immediately waived by the Clippers. HE did not play again in the 2020 season, and played just three games for the Pelicans in 2021 on a 10-day deal. He signed 10 days with the Mavs and Lakers (four games total) in 2022 before latching onto Charlotte, who he played 17 games with down the stretch. So far, he has not played in 2023.

Issuf Sanon – Sanon has not come over to the NBA, and is playing for Prometey in the Latvian-Estonian league. He’s still just 23, but it seems unlikely he’s an NBA player. Sanon’s rights are now owned by the Rockets.

2020 1^st Round Pick – The Clippers’ 2020 1^st rounder ended up as the 27^th pick, and was used by the Jazz in a draft-night trade to select center Udoka Azubuike. Azubuike has played in just 56 games over the past three seasons, and while he’s still young-ish, has not really shown much. He seems likely to move on this summer, but whether he gets another NBA deal is unknown. Notable NBA players drafted after Azubuike include Jalen McDaniels (28^th), Desmond Bane (30^th), Tre Jones (41^st), and Isaiah Joe (49^th), but not Daniel Oturu, who the Clippers confusingly drafted at 33.

2021 1^st Round Pick Swap – Did not convey, as the Clippers had a better record than the Knicks.

2021 Detroit 2^nd Round Pick – Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was selected with this pick by the Thunder, which ended up at the 32^nd spot in the draft. JRE has played in 77 games with the Thunder, with 54 of those appearances being starts. He just returned from a lengthy ankle injury and is a key player for the play-in hopeful Thunder off the bench. JRE looks to be a solid rotation player with room for more as a stretch big man. This pick, notably, was one before the 33^rd pick, which the Clippers bought to select Jason Preston. Notable players after this pick include Herb Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, and Jericho Sims.

The Purpose

Every recap of the trade and all the rumors leading up to the deal (for all of the “Clippers’ front office never leaks” talk, there was a hell of a lot of smoke of the Clippers’ interest in Morris) mentioned a few things about Marcus Morris: his shooting, toughness, and two-way play. The Clippers had been starting Moe Harkless at forward next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, and Morris’ shooting and size was seen as a big upgrade over the defense-first Harkless.

Reading between the lines, the Clippers thought that they needed a third scoring option behind Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. There were certainly concerns about Lou Williams’ and Montrezl Harrell’s ability to stay on the court on defense, and regarding Pat Beverley and Ivica Zubac being able to provide enough help on offense. Marcus Morris was seen as the 3^rd guy, a consistent offensive threat who would not be able to be played off the court on the other end. He was regarded as more than just a three-point shooter, but a legitimate scorer and shot creator in his own right.

Finally, there was a unique subplot to this trade, in that it was consistently framed as a way to keep the Lakers from trading for Morris. The Lakers were excellent this year (they ended up winning the bubble championship), but the thought was they needed Marcus Morris more than the Clippers. The Clippers acquiring Morris was seen as a huge win, not even for what he brought to the Clippers, but for what he wasn’t going to bring to the Lakers. Rarely is a trade so explicitly talked about in regards to preventing a rivals’ move, but that was certainly the case here.

My Thoughts At the Time

Here’s what I wrote in the 213 Hoops Roundtable after the trade (with a grade of B-): “The best argument in favor of the Clippers trading for Marcus Morris was keeping him away from the Lakers, who need his talents far more than the Clippers do. That said, while that game of keep away has value, it’s not enough to justify the trade on its own merits. I do think Morris could help the Clippers. He’s a much better shooter than Moe Harkless, and you can never have enough shooting in the modern NBA. The Clippers also didn’t pay a premium for him – while I’m still not sure if I’d even rather have Morris over Harkless straight up in some matchups, the rest of the assets the Clips gave up were only moderately valuable. That Pistons 2^nd rounder could be quite valuable, but it’s still just a second.

My main issue isn’t really Morris’ play in a vacuum, or even what the Clips gave up for him. It’s that I don’t think he really answers any of the Clippers’ issues. When the Clips offense has struggled this year, it’s been from stagnation and lack of movement, not lack of shooting or even shot creation. Morris, one of the most shot-happy and ball-stopping players in the NBA, does not help on that score whatsoever. Similarly, the other big issue for the Clips has been intensity and consistent effort, and while Morris is a “tough guy”, his actual effort waxes and wanes on any given night. Just ask Celtics fans on what the difference was between “good Mook” and “Flaskdad” (seriously, look it up). Harkless was inconsistent, especially offensively, but Morris will be no better in that regard.

In the end, this was a fine trade. The Clippers got a solid player (he’s a lot worse than Harkless defensively, but plays a position of bigger need, so it works out), and didn’t give up too much for him. I just don’t think it was the right move to make to truly move the Clips closer to a championship. And, if Morris’ comments from last week are biasing me somewhat, well, they were pretty horrid.”

In the “The Lob The Jam The Pod” episode after the trade, I reiterated those thoughts for the most part. I was really unconvinced that his skills would be of much value on the Clippers, and that while his three-point shooting and spacing would help, his ability to create mid-range jumpers at acceptable efficiency was not that useful in general, and particularly not next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. I hoped that he would be staggered with the bench to help with shot creation, but was fearful he would take shots from better options.

Where I was Wrong

While Morris has taken too many midrange jumpers at times, he’s never been the kind of drain on the offense I was fearing. Especially in his first year or two there were always a couple midrange jumpers that Morris would take that probably could have gone elsewhere, but rarely was it anything more than irritating. When he has played with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, he has deferred. In the three years with those two, he has averaged 9.2 shots, 10.2 shots, and 10.7 shots, with almost exactly half of those coming from three. The only year he took a lot more was 2022, when Kawhi didn’t play and PG missed half the year. Generally, he has known his role on offense – spacing the floor from three with occasional jumpers or closeouts – and filled it well.

Despite his age and injuries, Morris has also been a bit of a stalwart for the Clippers, playing 5,134 minutes in his Clippers tenure. The only two Clippers to log more minutes in that time have been Ivica Zubac and Reggie Jackson (around 5500), with Paul George and Terance Mann also in the 5100-ish range. Morris was not just a rental, as feared, and while the 4 year, $64M deal the Clippers signed him to is not positive value, he has given the Clippers a lot of minutes over the years.

Where I Was Right

I don’t like to toot my own horn (truly), but I feel like I more or less nailed this one. Morris has given the Clippers a ton more shooting than Moe Harkless, and has legitimately hit big shots for this team. He has, however, given the Clippers almost nothing else. His defense has, for most of his tenure, ranged between “below average” to “not awful”. His rebounding has been woefully below part. Morris’ playmaking for others, as expected, has been near non-existent. The shot creation has not mattered outside of the 2022 campaign, which was a lost season. His size has meant he hasn’t gotten picked on defensively to the same extent as small guards like Lou or a Trae Young, but he really has, for the most part, been a one-dimensional three-point shooter. A good one, but that’s all.

Something that hasn’t been talked about much since the trade has been “the toughness”. This Clippers team collapsed in the bubble, and while much of that group is gone, the Clippers of the Kawhi-PG era have never been particularly gritty. Morris has barked and growled and gotten technical fouls and ejections, but none of that has seemingly translated to a team mentality. Too often, he’s been one of the Clippers most liable to not give 100% effort on a mid-season game against a poor opponent, a mentality that has cost the Clippers far too many regular season wins. That personal toughness just has not made much an impact, at least a noticeable one. If anything, Morris’ attitude has probably been a negative on the Clippers.

Conclusion

From an asset perspective, the trade itself was a fine one. There were excellent players (including guys much better than Morris) available with both the 2020 and 2021 picks, but neither of the guys actually selected has given the Clippers’ cause for regret. Marcus Morris has given the Clippers thousands of minutes over the years, most of them competent, and has generally fit in well next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. I doubt the Clippers have any misgivings over this deal, if they’ve even thought about it in the past few years.

My thoughts, several years later, are that the concerns I had about the Clippers’ front office not necessarily knowing what was best for the team (or not having the ability to stand up to their stars and coaches) have grown. The move for Morris was the first of a now annual tradition of deadline moves to add pieces around PG and Kawhi. The following year was Lou Will for Rondo (awful), in 2022 was Norm Powell and RoCo, and 2023 has seen numerous additions. While I’ve liked some of the moves and the Clippers have hit on the margins as well as with reclamation projects, the issues on the roster that were present in 2020 remain – lack of a true 3^rd guy, an old and unathletic roster, and lack of interior scoring. The Clippers have continued to kowtow to their stars’ demands, mostly for aging point guards.

In the end, I do think the Morris deal was a failure, in that the Clippers have not made it past the Western Conference Finals, Morris himself has never been more than “fine” for the Clippers, and the shot creation and toughness he was supposed to bring have not really translated. Still, it’s played out in a very different way than I expected.

We don’t know who else the Clippers could have picked up for that trade package they made for Morris, whether at the 2020 deadline or that summer at the draft. The roads not taken are interesting to think about, but impossible to truly speculate on. Still, it’s interesting to re-consider the Morris deal in light of the moves made after, and on how his Clippers career has progressed to this point. Many criticisms of Morris now are not about him, but about his continued role in the starting lineup and overall importance to the rotation after he’s been superseded by other players in ability. Those coaching failures don’t reflect the trade itself, but do perhaps shine a light on some of the organizational flaws that the Clippers have, and their sometimes confusing thoughts on what makes the team successful. Hopefully the Clippers make a run this postseason, and Marcus Morris can finally make the impact the Clippers always dreamed he could.

A Marcus Morris Trade Retrospective
Robert Flom

Our staff roundtable grades continue with a look at Marcus Morris, the 2022 Clippers’ starting power forward for most of the season.

Kenneth Armstrong: B

When Marcus Morris shot well, the Clippers were much more likely to win: In wins, he shot 46% across the 2022 season (42% from three); in losses, he was just 40% (31% from three). Therefore—given that the Clippers were an average team this year—Marcus has to get an average grade, as our bellwether of success. To be fair, though, the games during which Marcus was ridiculously hot were pretty awesome. He’s such an old school scorer (mid-range shots from all angles, leaning into defenders to create space, generally unathletic), which is fun to watch when the shots are falling. But his bad habits are more annoying than his scoring is fun: He’s not a great rebounder, he is prone to earning technicals, and isn’t super active off the ball.

Ralston Dacanay: B

If you weren’t a fan of Marcus Morris Sr.’s game the last two seasons, this year likely didn’t help to change your mind much. On top of missing 15 of the first 17 games with left knee injury maintenance, shooting slightly below his career average from deep (36%) and having threes account for the smallest share of his overall shot selection in four seasons (H/T Andrew Greif), Morris Sr.’s physicality, defense and rebounding seemingly took some steps back this year. On the flip side, however, like Reggie Jackson, Morris Sr. was forced to shoulder an immense workload offensively, seeing his efficiency go out the window with his number continually being called on to make something happen. Additionally, like Reggie, Mook too had a number of nights in which he stepped up and either carried the team offensively or hit the dagger to notch dramatic wins throughout the year.

Ultimately, if this is the last we’ve seen of Morris Sr. in a Clipper jersey, there really aren’t any regrets to be had from this season for either side. Mook showcased just about what he can bring to the table at this point in his career both on and off the floor, with Tyronn Lue crediting him as a key voice in the locker room and leader for the team chemistry this year. From the Clippers’ standpoint, Robert Covington and Nicolas Batum clearly showed signs of how great they could be for next year’s potential reloaded run, perhaps to the point where Morris Sr. is simply the odd man out on a team stacked with talented wings. Personally, I wouldn’t mind Morris Sr. staying or being moved as he’s still an impactful player, so my thoughts in the case of the latter would definitely depend on the returning package.

Shapan Debnath: B

Mook played about as well as you could’ve reasonably expected him to play, without being unrealistic. After serious concerns about his knees were realized almost immediately this season, he bounced back well, shooting a decent 43.4/36.7/87.2, with a USG% of 23.2 being second in his career compared to his 24.4 in NYK. His defense was not good due to his slow feet and his rebounding remains atrocious, but his solid play last postseason on that end gives me enough hope that he could be serviceable enough when surrounded by the right guys. But Morris played himself from a negative asset to start the season to arguably a slightly positive one, and for a team filled with dynamic wings, it might be the best thing you could ask from him right now.

Cole Huff: B

I’ll shamelessly direct you all to the exit interview that I recently wrote on Morris to avoid being repetitive. Briefly, Morris was asked to play a larger role to begin the season with Kawhi being out, and then played an even larger role with Norman Powell and PG missing most of the season. He did well in those roles offensively and his scoring was often able to help the Clippers stay in and even win games. Defense was bad and rebounding was worse, but I won’t give him too much flak. He mostly met expectations this season and was a positive contributor. 

Robert Flom: B-

Marcus Morris had a perfectly fine 2022 season. He had a scoring average in the mid-teens on decent efficiency, adding spacing to lineups that sometimes needed it, and was a leader in the locker room. The scoring was maybe not what Clippers fans may have hoped for compared to his sizzling start to the 2020 season with the Knicks, but that was a couple years ago, and Morris has slowed since then. The biggest issue for Morris is on the other end – he’s fallen from above-average defender to below-average, and his rebounding (or lack thereof) was frequently catastrophic. The Clippers have two better complementary forwards on the roster in Nic Batum (if re-signed) and Robert Covington, opening the door for a Morris trade. Morris has mostly played well enough as a Clipper, but the trade for him 2.5 years ago to establish him as the 3rd scorer in LA did not pan out quite that way.

213 Hoops 2022 Season Player Grade Roundtable: Marcus Morris
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series at 213 Hoops continues with a look at the 2022 season of Clippers’ starting forward Marcus Morris.

BASIC INFORMATION

Height: 6’8”

Weight: 218lb

Position: Small Forward/ Power Forward

Age: 32

Years in the NBA: 11

Key Stats: 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 29.0 minutes per game, with shooting splits of 43.4/ 36.7/ 87.2

EXPECTATIONS

For the first time in his LA Clippers tenure, Marcus Morris was going to have an opportunity to fully tap into his New York Knicks bag, a bag that made him a hot commodity at the 2019-20 trade deadline. Whether or not a 32-year-old Morris with worsening knees could consistently resemble that former version of himself was uncertain, but the hope outweighed the skepticism.

Such offensive firepower would be needed to help ease the sting of not having Kawhi Leonard’s production for much of, if not all of the 2021-22 season. In theory, Morris could provide a frequent boost for the Clippers’ offense, being used in some similar ways to Leonard — operating a ton out of the mid-post and utilizing his strengths as a 1-on-1 scorer.

REALITY

The reality was that Marcus could not always be that player from the New York tenure who could consistently deliver as the primary scoring option. But in fairness, he also was never supposed to be that guy this season. Kawhi sat the entire campaign, PG missed most of the season and so did Norman Powell, which caused Morris’ usage to surge and his efficiency to tumble.

Let’s begin with the bad — Marcus was a bad defender and arguably an even worse rebounder. There were far too many nights where he failed to make an impact, or even an effort, on the glass, which oftentimes cost LA. This season more than any other, we could really see the impact of older age and wear on the body as his lack of explosion off the floor and physicality under the rim stuck out like a sore thumb.

But from an offensive lens, I personally couldn’t have asked for much more from him. While his shot diet wasn’t always great and his shooting ran hot and cold, I was rather pleased with how frequently he provided impactful scoring nights to help lift the Clippers. Morris also seemed to be a bit better as a playmaker when he was able to get downhill and create an advantage.

Nevertheless, I’ll ultimately remember the many good moments of Marcus’ 2021-22 season more than the frustrating ones. He made a ton of big shots throughout the year and played a role well enough to help put the Clippers on the brink of the NBA playoffs.

FUTURE WITH CLIPPERS

Many (myself included) assumed Marcus was on his way out when the Clippers acquired Robert Covington days ahead of the trade deadline. But he stayed, and it left the forward rotation very unsettled. The logjam at the position remains, as Covington recently re-upped with the Clippers and if Nic Batum returns they’ll be in the same boat. It feels like Morris (with his larger salary) may be on the move this off-season. We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out.

Clippers 2022 Season Exit Interview: Marcus Morris Sr.
Cole Huff

With the new NBA season nearly upon us, we’re running our annual preseason player preview series. Next up, a 2021-2022 season preview for Marcus Morris.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8″

Weight: 218 lbs

Position: F

Years in NBA: 10

Key Stats: 57 G, 29 GS, 13.4 PTS, 4.1 REB, 47.3% FG, 47.3% 3PT, 82.0% FT, 5.2 3PA

Contract Status: In the second year of a four-year, $64 million contract, for which the full amount is guaranteed. 2021-22 salary is $15,627,907.

Expectations

Higher than they were before last season. How much higher will depend on Morris’ deployment.

Marcus Morris has largely excelled in his primary role, which has been to convert open shots. The refrain of this Clippers preseason has been how the team will adjust to Kawhi Leonard’s absence. Morris sits at one tactical inflection point.

On one side is Morris the isolation scorer. In concept, he is the player best equipped to imitate Kawhi’s role in the offense. On the other side is recent history. Tyronn Lue and staff have already managed more than a playoff series without their star wing, and instead of plugging a Morris peg into the Kawhi hole, they essentially kept Morris in place and placed the playmaking onus elsewhere.

Whichever path the Clippers choose, and they may explore both (and more) in the regular season, expect Morris to start more than the 29 games he did last season.

Strengths

It starts with shooting. At least it did last year, when Morris was a straight flamethrower, matching his heady 47.3% field goal rate with a blazing 47.3% rate on threes. He largely kept it up in the postseason. He is deadly from the weak side when defenses collapse on the pick and roll or the Clippers’ star players.

Morris is also big, with more than enough size to line up at power forward in the NBA of 2021 but with enough mobility to stick to more perimeter-oriented wings in spurts and enough bulk to withstand stretches in the middle. When healthy and engaged, Morris gives his coaching staff another defensive tool, with his postseason work against Luka Doncic among his better tape. He would be exposed in a nightly role as a stopper, but he possesses the versatility to switch onto players both big and small.

One thing to watch for if he gets more isolation play, is that in a similar role shot creation role with the Knicks, he was a free throw collector. In 43 games in New York he managed seven free throws per 100 possessions, which would’ve ranked second with the Clippers last season. With the ball in his hands, he is nothing if not determined.

Weaknesses

Morris creates shots but he creates them for one player: himself. Last season, only three players recorded a higher usage rate with a lower assist rate. When the ball gets to Morris and he fixes his eyes upon the basket, for better or for worse, it’s probably going up.

Also, for a player for whose size is such an asset, Morris doesn’t play big in a crucial way: his rebound rate. Last season, he was outrebounded on a rate basis by half the team, including Paul George and Terance Mann. He was only marginally better than Luke Kennard.

Finally, Morris may be too streaky considering the relative prominence of his role. In 19 games last postseason, Morris failed to make a three six times and converted just one another four times. For a player whose contract and role make him the team’s ostensible third option, he plays with the high variance of a deeper alternative.

Summary

Marcus Morris is a valuable contributor. For all the talk about his contract, his streakiness, and the draft pick surrendered for him, the Clippers had a clear vision for Morris that he has largely fulfilled. His presence, along with Nic Batum’s, affords the team its signature malleability.

All of this makes Morris more valuable to the Clippers than to most any other team. His contract could serve as useful salary ballast in trade, but as the team lacks additional sweeteners, Morris is likely to stick around for at least another season.

Clippers 2021-2022 Season Preview: Marcus Morris
Thomas Wood

In the pregame media Zoom call, coach Ty Lue announced that Marcus Morris would make his long-awaited return against the Warriors tonight. Morris has missed the first eight games of the season with a nebulous “knee soreness” designation, but has been practicing for a couple weeks, and there was no stated minutes restriction on the veteran forward.

In addition to Morris’ return, Paul George will play after missing yesterday’s game against the Spurs with an ankle injury, and Kawhi Leonard will notably play on the second night of a back to back, the first time he’s done so since 2017. This means the Clippers will have a complete roster for the first time this season, a very nice portent for the new year of 2021.

It’s unknown yet if Morris will start or not, a legitimate question considering how well Nicolas Batum has played in Morris’ absence. Bench or starter, Marcus Morris’ return should allow the Clippers to have two legitimate forwards on the court at all time, which should really help their defense.

Morris will presumably need a bit of time to get back up to speed, so it is probably best to keep expectations at a reasonable amount. But still, if Marcus Morris can hit a couple shots, play at least competent defense, and not mess with the Clippers’ newfound ball movement, it will be a successful return.

Marcus Morris To Return Against Warriors
Robert Flom

The Los Angeles Clippers made many changes during the offseason in an attempt to right their wrongs from the 2019-2020 season. By now you know of the changes: Ty Lue was promoted from assistant to head coach, Luke Kennard was brought in via trade, and Serge Ibaka was signed to essentially replace Montrezl Harrell, who crossed the hallway to join the Los Angeles Lakers. A reshaping and reconstruction of the team was meant to deliver a new beginning, but a knee injury to Marcus Morris has put a hold on those new plans getting all the way off the ground. Here’s what we know about the injury, and what implications it could have on the Clippers as they begin their season.

There isn’t much known about Marcus Morris’ injury other than what the team has made public — knee soreness that has thus far kept him out of the three preseason games and the opening night game against the Lakers. There’s some room for optimism, as head coach Ty Lue has informed the media that Morris has been practicing with the team. Video has even surfaced of Morris going through an on-court shooting workout prior to the team’s preseason game vs. the Utah Jazz, suggesting that the knee injury won’t be something of major concern for the newly inked $64 million man. However, the pessimistic Clippers fan in me (all of us, probably) takes me back to the 2018-2019 season, when Luc Mbah a Moute had a season-long knee soreness that relegated him to only four total games. But as things currently stand, we don’t have a lot of details and we’ll have to wait and see what happens in the coming days.

It was well documented just how out of sync last season’s team was with one another. The Clippers were only able to put together a small percentage of games with a fully healthy roster, and an even smaller percentage of practices with all players available. A culmination of injuries (both pre-season and in-season), trade-deadline acquisitions, and free agent signings left the Clippers with poor continuity and little team chemistry on the court. While leading scorers Kawhi Leonard and Paul George dealt with managing injuries throughout that season, their roles on the court were established from the moment they became Clippers. The same cannot be said for Morris, whose comfortability and fit was never fully executed — as shown by his shooting splits compared to his New York tenure. A condensed 2020-style offseason provided him and the rest of the guys an opportunity to step into training camp having healthy bodies, with the focus being on ironing out the wrinkles and establishing an understanding of their roles under a new coaching staff. So, having important players miss the first bits of the season isn’t exactly playing into the team’s new gameplan, but it’s the hand they’ve been dealt, and they’ll have to adjust to these kinds of situations better than they did last season.

That being said, the Clippers may be able to use Morris’ setback to their advantage early in this season. “What’s good about Marcus Morris missing time?,” you may ask. The question might sound silly, but his absence could serve as an experimental period for this new squad by evaluating players, schemes, and rotations through trial and error. Here’s how:

• Young players are going to have an opportunity to prove their value. It would be false to claim that the Clippers’ title hopes depend on the development of two sophomore bench players taking a step forward. However, the front office and coaching staff spent time this offseason addressing the importance of player development, an area that they wanted to make improvements in. With Morris out, more minutes are available for players to play their way into rotations and hopefully prove to be valuable pieces going forward. Terance Mann will look to build off of a good preseason in which he asserted himself into the competition of battling Reggie Jackson for rotation minutes alongside Lou Williams and Luke Kennard, while Mfiondu Kabengele has a chance at competing with Patrick Patterson for the third big-man spot. Neither Mann nor Kabengele saw the court much in Tuesday’s win, but Patterson and Jackson weren’t particularly good in their minutes. This will be something to keep an eye on if the injury to Marcus Morris lingers.

• Veteran’s will ramp up quicker. Additional minutes could be beneficial for the veteran role players as well. Veteran forward Nic Batum started for the injured Morris in Tuesday’s win and played 28 minutes. Those minutes will surely be reduced once Morris returns, but it’s good for Batum to get these early season reps and opportunities being that he didn’t see the court much last season. Batum had a solid performance based on what we expect from him and it’ll be interesting to see if this temporary uptick in minutes will be beneficial in the long run.

• Ty Lue and the new coaching staff will be creative with lineups. Lue already shook things up a bit during the preseason by announcing that newly signed Serge Ibaka would be starting at center over long-time starter Ivica Zubac, but committed to being experimental throughout the course of the season. Perhaps one of Lue’s greatest traits as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers was his ability to adjust his rotations based on performance and matchups, and through one regular season game, we’ve already seen this. Against the Lakers, Zubac played 27 minutes to Ibaka’s 21. Ty Lue willingly left Zubac in the game for long spurts because of his impact and activity around the rim, and he finished tied for a team high plus-17. Perhaps more importantly, Reggie Jackson entered the game to begin the second quarter, had a negative impact on the flow of the offensive in just three minutes of play, and then was relegated to the bench for the remainder of the game. It was quite pleasant to see a coach managing rotations based on game-flow, and we should be able to count on seeing more of it.

Through three preseason games and one regular season game, it seems as though the team chemistry is in a good place. Guys are saying all the right things and seem noticeably happier than they did last season. Marcus Morris’ injury is a legit bummer for this team, and it will be worth monitoring if this iteration of the Clippers can maintain cohesion and chemistry as they deal with these very situations that plagued them last season. However, while there’s some reason for negativity, the ability to give other players opportunities early in the season and experiment with some outside-the-box lineups could be a boon in the long-term.

The Marcus Morris Injury: Impact & Implications
Cole Huff

The Clippers just announced that starting power forward Marcus Morris is out for tomorrow’s opening night game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Morris missed all of preseason with knee soreness, and that is the same injury keeping him out against the Lakers.

New arrival Nicolas Batum started in Morris’ absence in preseason, and it seems highly likely that he starts tomorrow’s game as well. Batum has mostly played small forward and shooting guard in his career, but is a better defender against forwards at this point in his career. A low-usage veteran who can theoretically stretch the floor, make plays for others, and defend multiple positions, Batum is a fine fit with the starting lineup. However, he lacks Morris’ shot creation and scoring, and his shooting dipped significantly last season.

Patrick Patterson will probably back up Batum at power forward, with Mfiondu Kabengele and Daniel Oturu in deep reserve. Before playing those guys, the Clippers could also play Serge Ibaka at forward alongside Ivica Zubac, or bump Kawhi Leonard down a position and play him at the four. Ibaka is really not a power forward at this point in his career, and Kawhi’s minutes there have been limited to reduce wear and tear, but in the short term both are viable enough options.

The greater issue, however, is the long term. Morris has now been out for weeks with a vague “soreness” designation, and while he has been practicing at least a bit, that lack of clarity on his situation is worrying. This Clippers team does not have another starting level power forward on the roster, as they did last year with JaMychal Green, and both Batum and Patterson are major steps down from Morris. If Morris misses a lot of time, the Clippers’ starting unit and bench lineup will be worse, which might result in a shakier start to the season. More worrying, the Clippers will not be able to build up as much chemistry in the starting unit as they might like – lack of reps was a huge issue last season, and it’s one of the big problems that should be remedied this year.

Maybe Morris is only out for a few games. Hopefully so, because while one game against the Lakers doesn’t mean a whole lot, each contest that passes without him damages the Clippers in the now and throughout the length of the season.

Marcus Morris Out Against Lakers on Opening Night
Robert Flom

Well, the first day of free agency has come and gone, and it was an eventful one for the Clippers. Robert Flom and Lucas Hann are here to break it all down on TLTJTP: the Marcus Morris re-signing, Montrezl Harrell going to the Clippers, bringing back Patrick Patterson, and the departure of JaMychal Green to Denver. They then discuss what avenues the Clippers have to bolstering their roster in the rest of free agency, and where they should look to go from here.

Check out the pod here! Be sure to give a five star rating on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback on the Clippers first day of free agency in the comments below!

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

TLTJTP: Clippers First Day of Free Agency & Next Steps
Robert Flom