The Los Angeles Lakers got a shot in the arm in their frontline after they reached a verbal agreement to sign veteran power forward Markieff Morris, who just completed a buyout with the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Shams Charania of The Athletic first broke the news of Morris’ buyout with the Pistons and plans of signing with the Lakers.
Markieff Morris plans to sign with Lakers, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 21, 2020Morris, 30, is going to be a significant acquisition for the championship-contending Lakers as he provides depth in both forward spots.
A nine-year veteran out of Kansas, Morris will add more spice to the brewing intra-state rivalry between the Lakers and the Clippers, who ironically traded for his twin brother Marcus Morris a couple of weeks ago.
Let’s take a look at how much help Morris can provide LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the Lakers in order to win a championship this season.
Extra Scoring Punch
Morris is just averaging just a shade above 25 minutes per game throughout his career, yet he’s a career 11.6 points scorer. Like his brother Marcus, he can play both forward positions seamlessly because of his ability to spot up for jumpers and create his own shots, when needed.
Floor Stretcher
The Lakers have a bevy of solid big men on their second unit but they don’t have a player who can knock down long bombers at much better rate than Morris. Markieff has shot 33 percent from the three-point range throughout his career and once knocked down 37 percent of his three-balls during the 2017-18 NBA season with the Washington Wizards.
Tough Mindset
Markieff Morris adds some grit-and-grind mentality to the Lakers, importantly on their second unit. The Morris Twins have established a reputation around the league for their toughness, so it’s really a big plus for a Lakers team that needs that gritty role player off the bench.
Freeing Kuz
This is perhaps the reason why the Lakers pounced on the opportunity of signing Morris. They want Markieff to play at the power forward position, allowing Kyle Kuzma to play more minutes at the small forward spot. All of a sudden, the Lakers will feature a very tall second-unit frontline of Dwight Howard, Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma that can outmuscle any team.
Morris has been sold on a backup power forward role with the Lakers -- with more minutes for Kyle Kuzma at the three now. Sets up Markieff vs. Marcus Morris in Los Angeles. https://t.co/iSIFzCy62F
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 21, 2020
Playoff Tested
Acquiring Morris also gives the Lakers another playoff-tested player. The purple-and-gold has stacked up a lineup consists of veterans with playoff experience, and Morris is one of them. Markieff has 24 playoff games around his belt, averaging 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. He also shot 42 percent from the field, 32 percent from the three-point range and 82 percent from the free-throw line in postseason play.
