NBA Rumors: Phoenix Suns Aim for Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell Package for Markieff Morris Trade

By Mitch de Leon
Markieff Morris
Philadelphia Suns star Markieff Morris wants out of the NBA team. Wikimedia Commons/Mwinog2777

The Phoenix Suns have been quite open with the possibility of letting go Markieff Morris since the beginning of the basketball season. With the public blowout involving the Morris twins and the team, it has become expected that NBA trade rumors will be surrounding the parties. However, it looks like the basketball teams in the league are not at all that interested in trading for Morris. Despite being with his desire to get out of the Phoenix Suns, no takers have come forward thus far.

While some fans believe that this might be due to the allegedly disruptive behavior of Morris, who was penalized by the NBA for his aggressive verbal jabs against his current team, the Phoenix Suns might have a hand at the slow unraveling of the trade talks. Reports disclosed that the NBA team keeps turning down deals that offer first-round picks in exchange for Morris.

According to Adrian Wojnarowksi of The Vertical, the Phoenix Suns no longer find first-round picks appealing. The NBA team currently holds five of these prime draft picks in the subsequent three drafts, thereby making the succeeding offers insufficiently attractive. Hence, the Phoenix Suns already have a "deep well of future picks." This means that basketball squads aiming to acquire Morris via trade from the Phoenix Suns must offer additional perks to the package.

"Suns general manager Ryan McDonough has been pursuing a package that includes a younger player and a first-round pick, league executives said," revealed Wojnarowski. He added, "The Suns are motivated to honor Morris' desire for a trade - and have no intention of bringing him back next season - but teams are starting to think the Suns could hold onto Morris past the Thursday trade deadline without a deal that brings back a player of value with a first-round pick."

Rumors are now arising that the terms of the NBA trade dictated by the Phoenix Suns might be met by the Los Angeles Lakers. With the departure of Kobe Bryant from the basketball team, the Roy Hibbert squad will be composed of mostly newcomers especially in the starting lineup. This poses a problem of leadership and experience for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Given the skill and wisdom of Morris, a swap between the two teams might be a good call. Since the Los Angeles Lakers appear to have no plans of firing Byron Scott anytime soon, it might be prudent for the team to let go of players incapable of following the head coach's plays. Based on recent reports, two young stars have been clashing with Scott: D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle.

Both young NBA stars have been known to reject the decisions of Scott in their games this season. In fact, Scott even acknowledged that Randle hated the move to bench him multiple times. As for Russell, the rookie has become more resentful in the limited minutes given him in the hardwood court.

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