Markieff Morris Watch

[Superbone]

In Keef's interview he said the ref told him he could choose his side. That could be a lie, or could be a misunderstanding, or maybe he did and then reversed it later. That said, I agree that walking through the ref warranted a tech, and that was stupid on his part.

Kieff was not going to stop until he had garnered a tech.

[carey]

McDonough's interview today made me think he's gone ASAP - which may be the 15th.

What did McDonough say in the interview?

Gambo asked him to talk about the Markieff rumors: "We've heard the rumors about New Orleans..." and "Houston..." an "Are you guys actively shopping Markieff Morris right now?"

McDonough: "Well I think the way you framed the question was fair, and you're right his attitude has been very good and uh that's something I think people externally don't see. But if you saw the shot of our bench reaction the other night, he was excited, he jumped up, he celebrated, so I appreciate you asking that question fairly. Are we shopping him? I wouldn't necessarily say that. Um, you know, we are looking at whatever we can do to upgrade the team and the trading deadline is in late February. Despite our troubles as we sit here today we're 1 game out of the 8th spot in the West and uh I think we just went through the toughest part of our schedule. We were able to kind of keep our head above water so to speak. Um, now the schedule turns a little bit. We have some home games, we have lighter travel. Our goal this year is to not only make the playoffs but to try to get in as obvious the first step and see what we can do to compete in the playoffs. So I think you may see us be more aggressive than we've been in years passed trying to add, but no it's not Markieff there's nobody on this roster we're trying to get rid of. Uh we don't really look to make moves to take a step back or would be considered lateral moves. If there's a trade that makes our team a whole lot better in the short and long term we'll do it. Uh, you know, but short of that we'll ride with the group we have. As you mentioned John Leuer and Mirza Teletovic, in particular, have been playing very well. Our offense has flowed pretty well with those guys on the floor. We'll see if Markieff can get going again and hopefully make a contribution as the year goes on."

Gambo: "Is it at least fair to say that you've fielded some calls from teams that are interested in Markieff?"

McDonough: "Ya know, I don't want to get into that specifically. I can't recount conversations I've had with other teams. Um, I'd like it to remain private. Lets put it this way, we'll be active and aggressive. Usually you see the NBA trade market heat up between, uh, probably next week in mid-December and the trade deadline which is in February. That's when the deals get done. I think there's only one deal league wide since July and that was the deal between Memphis and Miami with Chalmers and Udrih switching teams. And that's it. So you're talking about, what a 4 or 5 month period where there's been 1 trade. So, it can be a challenging time of year to do a deal. Uh, like I said, our goal on the road trip was to keep our head above water. Obviously, um, we were encouraged by the fact that we had a chance to win all 6 games. We'd be feeling great right now if we were 4-2 instead of 2-4. We did ok. We hung in there. We didn't get knocked out so to speak. So now with the schedule turning a lot of home games hopefully we can make some headway and you know start climbing the ladder up into that top-8 in the West."

[Indy]

He was not trying to get one.

[AmareIsGod]

http://arizonasports.com/story/487058/s ... ff-morris/

“Are we shopping him? I wouldn’t necessarily say that, but we’re looking at whatever we can do to upgrade our team. The trade deadline is in late February. Despite our struggles, I think as we sit here today we’re one game out of the eight spot in the West, and I think we just went through the toughest part of our schedule and we were able to keep our head above water, so to speak.”

[cardoso31]

I really like Teletovic, he's big and his rythm will come along, im not sure how much better Anderson is; I really would like a different kind of PF just to give us versatility, I've always liked Taj Gibson since he is all hustle and lenght and defense, then we could play Len and taj, or Chandler and Leur/Tele for Offence/deffense combos

[Indy]

Agreed about mixing it up cardoso

[JCSunsfan]

Ibaka. Ibaka. Ibaka. 3 point shot, defense, rim protection. Perfect.

[pickle]

Yes Ibaka would be a dream scenario for me, given the available talent in the league today.

[TOO]

To get Ibaka, it'd probably cost Booker... Just sayin..

[Ring_Wanted]

Ibaka is the ultimate complement to Durant and Westbrook. If I am OKC, I don't even entertain moving him unless it is for a third superstar (especially since Ibaka's contract indirectly did cost the Thunder the ability to keep James Harden).

And even if Phoenix made an offer large enough to seduce Presti, to make it worthwhile for the Suns we would need to be left with enough ammo and flexibility to build a winner. Probably unfeasible, when the player on his own doesn't make a difference if not surrounded by top talent, which is Ibaka's case.

[pickle]

For me it would be to try and grab him in free agency, especially if the OKC dynasty is disassembled. I don't see any trade scenarios other than a sign and trade to give OKC something back after they decide that it's over.

I also love Horford. If we can get him this summer in free agency, I would like him better than Aldridge in fact.

[ShelC]

Teletovic is a player for sure. Just got off to a slow start, but is a nice stretch 4 and a potential starter. Whatever we need to do to get rid of Kieff, just do it.

[Mori Chu]

Guys, Ibaka and Horford are not going to be available for us.

[Mori Chu]

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I would love to get Ryan Anderson.

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-ba ... n-anderson

[Aztec Sunsfan]

I really like Teletovic, he's big and his rythm will come along, im not sure how much better Anderson is; I really would like a different kind of PF just to give us versatility, I've always liked Taj Gibson since he is all hustle and lenght and defense, then we could play Len and taj, or Chandler and Leur/Tele for Offence/deffense combos

Both Chandler and Len are closer to be the D-side on any combo at the frontcourt, Len-Gibson is not a pair capable to provide consistent offense. We need a PF capable to hold his own defensively and consistently produce above average on offense and passing. Ironically, pre-meltdown Markieff was really close to fit the bill, but that ship has sailed long ago.

[JCSunsfan]

I really like Teletovic, he's big and his rythm will come along, im not sure how much better Anderson is; I really would like a different kind of PF just to give us versatility, I've always liked Taj Gibson since he is all hustle and lenght and defense, then we could play Len and taj, or Chandler and Leur/Tele for Offence/deffense combos

Both Chandler and Len are closer to be the D-side on any combo at the frontcourt, Len-Gibson is not a pair capable to provide consistent offense. We need a PF capable to hold his own defensively and consistently produce above average on offense and passing. Ironically, pre-meltdown Markieff was really close to fit the bill, but that ship has sailed long ago.

I think that is why mgmt has been hanging on so long. Sane Markieff is a pretty good fit.

[Shabazz]

Ryan Anderson sitting tonight with an "illness."

[Superbone]

Ryan Anderson sitting tonight with an "illness."

Interesting! I read that he's sitting out due to "flu symptoms". I wonder if it's the same strain that gave Kieff a sinus infection?

[EDC]

Not sure how to feel about a Morris for Anderson trade. Could just be a half year rental. I know Morris is a pain but I still feel like we should be able to get long term value out of his great contract.

On the other hand we rarely ever hear about a trade from this front office before it happens. They are always super quiet about it.

[Mori Chu]

Thinking that Markieff will be out of the Suns uniform at 12:00:01 AM on 12/15.