The Los Angeles Lakers and veteran forward Markieff Morris have agreed to terms on a deal, with the veteran reportedly leaving a bundle of cash on the table to join the title contenders.
Couple of notes on the future of Markieff Morris: (P/1)
🏀 Still has to go thru waivers (will clear on Sunday) and teams with a trade exception have the right to claim him.
🏀 LAL has 15 guaranteed contracts and would need to waive a player.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 21, 2020
(P/2)
🏀 Morris left $4.3M (remainder of this season and 2020/21) on the table in his buyout with Detroit.
🏀 LAL has the $1.75M DPE. For comparison, the prorated minimum is $694,702.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 21, 2020
Morris’ willingness to leave that much money behind says a lot about how much he values winning over money. On top of that, it also says a lot about how valuable of a destination the Lakers are for veterans looking to contend for a title this season.
Morris will now join a team that has had a stranglehold on the Western Conference for much of the 2019-20 season.
At the moment, the Lakers own a four-game lead in the conference with a record of 41-12.
With the addition of Morris, the Lakers are sure to become an even more formidable squad.
This season, Morris is averaging 11.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He is also shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc.
He will likely serve as a formidable option coming off the bench and could also potentially see the court when the Lakers look to go big to dominate other teams on the boards.