The New York Knicks are sending veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr. to the Clippers in exchange for a package including Moe Harkless.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the New York Knicks are trading Marcus Morris Sr. to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal that includes the Washington Wizards.
The reported deal will send Moe Harkless, Los Angeles’ 2020 first-round pick, and Detroit’s 2021 second-round pick (via L.A.), and former second-round pick Issuf Sanon’s draft rights from the Wizards. Sanon, drafted in 2018, has yet to make the jump from Europe to the NBA.
Morris is on a one-year deal so it makes sense for the Knicks to flip him for whatever they could get in return.
After initial reports indicated that the Knicks would keep Morris past the deadline, team president Steve Mills was reassigned and the calculus changed. According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, general manager Scott Perry is still running the show despite the reported hiring of Leon Rose as team president.
The Los Angeles Lakers were also in the bidding war for Morris’ services. According to Charania, the Knicks were adamant about acquiring Kyle Kuzma in exchange for the veteran forward, but the Lakers removed Kuzma from discussions at one point. That helped open the door for their crosstown rivals to swoop in and make the deal.
Morris is in the midst of the best year of his career. He’s scoring 19.6 points per game on 43.9% shooting from three—both career-highs. There’s no doubt that Morris’ scoring average will decrease on a team where he isn’t the first or second option, but he still brings plenty of toughness to a Clippers squad that has championship aspirations.
