With the trade deadline approaching, the New York Knicks reportedly “prefer” to keep Marcus Morris Sr. through the season.
Marcus Morris Sr. is one of the most valuable trade chips the New York Knicks have in the arsenal, but it’s not a given that the team will move the veteran forward. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Knicks prefer to keep Morris.
“Morris has expressed publicly and privately his desire to stay loyal with the Knicks, and the team is said to prefer to keep him,” wrote Charania.
Morris signed a one-year deal with the Knicks over the summer after backing out of an agreement with the San Antonio Spurs. He’s averaging 18.3 points on 45.2% three-point shooting. The forward is posting a career-best percentage from beyond the arc on 5.7 attempts per game, also a high-water mark for his career.
As Charania notes, Morris has said publicly that he wants to stay in New York past the trade deadline. However, it would behoove the Knicks to keep him around. Re-signing the Philadelphia native could be difficult if he continues to shoot the three-ball at such an impressive clip.
There’s always the chance that this is posturing to drive up trade value. If teams know Morris is going to be moved no matter what, it takes away much of the Knicks’ leverage in the situation.
Previous reports indicate that Morris could fetch a late first-round pick in a trade and the rebuilding Knicks could use that draft capital to continue adding young talent to the roster. Not to mention, trading Morris will free up more playing time for Kevin Knox, the team’s 2018 lottery pick.
