Tag: Marcus Morris

Report: Spurs, Marcus Morris agree on buyout, making him free agent

The San Antonio Spurs have bought out Marcus Morris.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the San Antonio Spurs and Marcus Morris have agreed on a buyout, making the veteran forward a free agent. Morris started the season with the LA Clippers, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in the James Harden deal, and found his way to the Spurs at the deadline. Now, he’ll be free to sign with a contender should he decide to take that route.

So far this season, Morris has appeared in 37 games (none of which for the Spurs). He has averaged 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists while shooting 43.9% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the three-point arc.

The 34-year-old forward is in his 12th year in the NBA and could provide some teams with a valuable veteran presence off the pine.

It’s important to note that since Morris made roughly $17.1 million before getting bought out, he is ineligible to sign with teams who were in the first tax apron or higher. This eliminates squads such as the Boston Celtics and Clippers, two of Morris’ former homes.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Report: Spurs trade Doug McDermott to Pacers for second-round pick

The San Antonio Spurs have traded Doug McDermott to the Indiana Pacers for Marcus Morris and a second-round pick.

The San Antonio Spurs have traded veteran forward Doug McDermott to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a future second-round pick, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. San Antonio will also receive Marcus Morris in the trade, who the Pacers received in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier in the deal.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Spurs plan to buy out Morris, and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports revealed that the pick heading to San Antonio will be a 2029 second-rounder (via the LA Clippers). McDermott had been playing fairly well for the Spurs, but the 32-year-old is in the final year of his contract.

So far this season, McDermott has been averaging 6.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 43.9% from behind the three-point line.

Adding a second-rounder in exchange for McDermott adds a pick to their cabinet, albeit a very far-in-the-future one, to help add assets down the line.

Buying out Morris also makes sense for the Spurs, who should be focusing on a youth movement around Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio will now have an open roster spot with which they could look to bring in a project player.

One guy who immediately jumps to mind is Killian Hayes, who the Detroit Pistons waived on deadline day. He, like Wembanyama, is from France, and while his tenure in Detroit was a bust, taking a chance on a second-home player is exactly what the Spurs should be doing for the rest of the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 13

Today’s installment focuses on the 24 players who wore No. 13 over the years as of September 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 24 players who wore No. 13 over the years as of September 2023.

Shams: Celtics in strong talks with Wizards, Clippers to swap Malcolm Brogdon for Kristaps Porzingis

The Celtics have been looking to shop Brogdon in an effort to rebalance their roster.

According to new reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics “are in strong talks on a trade” with the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards “that would send Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, Marcus Morris and draft compensation to Washington and Malcolm Brogdon to Los Angeles. Sides are still working through details and Porzingis’ $36 (million) player option.”

The Celtics have been looking to shop Brogdon in an effort to rebalance their roster, and such a move might make sense given the offensive boost and fit of the Lithuanian big man with Al Horford and Robert Williams III.

But questions about the veteran forward’s health (Porzingis has played more than 60 games in only three of his seven seasons in the league) will surely play into Boston’s considerations when making any such move.

Still, the team would possess his Bird rights in such a scenario while also getting off of Brogdon’s remaining salary of $45 million over the next two seasons of another oft-injured player.

While also shoring up a position of need.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556

Seven Boston Celtics changing places in 2011 redraft

As has been the case in past iterations of the exercise, the authors have reassessed a number of alumni of the Boston Celtics. 

As has been their wont in recent weeks, the NBA analysts over at our sister site of Hoops Hype have been re-drafting each season of the recent history of the NBA to get each year’s big event “the way it should have been,” most recently putting their analytical expertise to work on doing the 2011 NBA draft over again with the benefit of hindsight.

A draft they have suggested has been underrated with as many as four future Hall of Famers within it, they do their best to right the wrongs of the general managers of that time. And as has been the case in past iterations of the exercise, the authors ( Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon) have reassessed a number of alumni of the Boston Celtics.

Let’s see where Celtics alumni got taken in this redux.

All ex-Boston Celtics vs. today’s team – who would win?

HoopsHype put together a league-wide exercise of the best five players a team has recently moved on from contrasted with the best players they have now.

Whenever an NBA team like the Boston Celtics makes a trade, it is banking on whatever coming back being more of the thing a ball club needs than what they are sending out — even if — in some cases — a team is trying to accumulate draft capital or young talent in a rebuild. The same can be said for players who aren’t re-signed in favor of using a roster spot elsewhere.

So there may be times a team gets worse by design, but that doesn’t stop fans and analysts from dunking on a franchise if a player they dealt away starts playing well later. To be fair, sometimes it’s annoyingly deserved (cough cough Desmond Bane cough), but it can also be a fun exercise to look back on what might have been.

To that end, the staff of HoopsHype put together a league-wide exercise of the best five players a team has recently moved on from contrasted with the best players they have now — let’s see how they rated out the Celtics.

Somebody forgot to clear the runway for the paper airplane that caused a short delay in the Mavericks-Clippers game

A paper airplane hilariously invaded the Mavericks-Clippers game

Man. Where is air traffic control when you need them? Sure could’ve used them at the Mavericks game on Tuesday night.

We’ve seen some pretty weird delays in the NBA before. There have been roof leaks, protests, beverage spills and more. Things happen. That just is what it is.

But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a paper airplane crash land on an NBA floor to cause a delay. That happened during the Mavericks-Clippers game.

Marcus Morris came down the floor with the ball with Dorian Finney-Smith guarding him. All of a sudden, NYEEEEERM. A paper airplane comes crashing to the floor.

Everybody stopped for a second so, of course, the game is delayed. It was a hilarious delay, also. And it happened just before halftime so this is almost certainly somebody playing defense for the Mavericks from the stands.

 

Granted, it wasn’t a long delay. It wasn’t even a timeout — a Mavs staffer just removed the plane and they kept playing. But that didn’t make it any less funny.

That was a pretty well-crafted paper airplane if I do say so myself. Here’s another angle. Just look at how sharp it is.

And for it to fly perfectly in between the two players like that? Nah. Whoever made that accomplished their mission. They didn’t need a clear runway to land that bird.

Fun stuff, Dallas. Fun stuff.

Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery

Norman Powell, Darius Garland and other NBA stars to bet on during Friday’s play-in games

A look at some player props ahead of Friday’s play-in games.

The NBA’s Play-In Tournament has a way of keeping viewers on the edge of their toes. We all were invested on Tuesday, whether it was Anthony Edwards bringing the Minnesota Timberwolves home down the stretch of Tuesday’s game against the LA Clippers, or Kyrie Irving’s perfect three quarters against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But the stakes are higher now — it’s literally “win or go home” for everyone on Friday night, and things are already getting interesting.

For Cleveland, how will Jarrett Allen look in his likely return from a broken finger? Will Bogdan Bogdanovic test out his sprained ankle for Atlanta? And which Clipper is going to fill in for the recently ruled out Paul George (health and safety protocols)?

Here’s what we can expect on Friday night:

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook

[tipico]

Reaction: Jalen Green heats up, but Clippers hand Rockets 10th straight loss

Rockets rookie Jalen Green has scored 20 or more points in three of his last four outings, but it again wasn’t enough to stop the losing streak for the Rockets — which is now at 10 games.

Two nights after Ivica Zubac was the clear story with 15 rebounds and 6 blocks in a narrow win at Houston, the Los Angeles big man was even more efficient in Tuesday’s rematch and made sure it wasn’t as close.

Zubac had 22 points (66.7% FG) and 12 rebounds in only 25 minutes, leading his Clippers to a 113-100 win (box score) at Toyota Center over the young Rockets. Rookie guard Jalen Green heated up in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points on 9-of-21 shooting (42.9%), along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. However, it proved to be too little, too late.

Reggie Jackson added 17 points and 6 assists for the Clippers, while Marcus Morris Sr. scored 18 points and hit 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. (66.7%).

Christian Wood had 17 points (63.6% FG) and 8 rebounds for Houston, but he frequently struggled to match up defensively with the stronger Zubac. Jae’Sean Tate had 12 points (50.0% FG) and 9 rebounds.

With the loss, Houston (15-46) continues to own the Western Conference’s worst record. They have now lost 10 straight games, which is their second-longest skid this season. Meanwhile, the Clippers (33-31) have won four straight and are building on their lead for the No. 8 spot in the West playoff race. Scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction.

Clippers’ Marcus Morris calls the Lakers an average team

Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris called the Lakers an average team after their win Thursday.

Thursday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers delivered another entertaining installment of the “Battle of L.A.”

Despite the absence of LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard due to respective injuries, both squads fought hard in a close fourth quarter. The Lakers had trailed by 17 in the third but rallied and even took the lead.

In the end, Anthony Davis’ floater at the buzzer rimmed out, which would’ve won the game for the Lakers.

After the game, Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr., who scored 29 points with a 6-of-7 clip from deep, called the Lakers, among other teams, an average team (h/t: @TomerAzarly):

“I mean (expletive), both of them teams is pretty average from what I’ve seen. I don’t see either team being great teams.”

Morris answered a question about how his team is inspired to beat potential playoff teams despite not having Leonard or George playing, but the Lakers have not assembled consistent wins. However, James, Davis and Russell Westbrook have played just 16 games together 53 games into the season, so there has been little development chemistry-wise.

[mm-video type=video id=01fv10p9d3s57x9zs7ta playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fv10p9d3s57x9zs7ta/01fv10p9d3s57x9zs7ta-5dcb529a6c6206c5fc17d81a95838ee4.jpg]

[listicle id=60930]