It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason for Marcus Morris, but the ex-Celtic appears to be happy with where he ultimately landed.
After reportedly turning down a three-year, $41 million offer from the Los Angeles Clippers, Morris told The Athletics’ Shams Charania that he had assumed the Spurs would be his only option, hence his initial decision to sign a two-year, $20 million contract with San Antonio. But things quickly changed, and Morris agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the New York Knicks.
That being said, Morris still has plenty of love and respect for the guys down in San Antonio.
“I have a good relationship with those guys and I have so much respect for (head coach) Pop (Gregg Popovich), (general manager) RC (Buford) and (assistant GM) Brian Wright,” Morris said. “The first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew. There was no shade. There’s no disrespect. I had great conversations afterward, and as long as I feel that I’m clear with them and gave them my truth, I feel good about moving forward.”
As for his relationship with former agent Rich Paul, who helped organize the proposed Clippers deal, Morris said much of what was reported about their recent decision to part ways wasn’t entirely factual.
“All this stuff that (Paul) didn’t want me to go to the Clippers and didn’t want me to go against LeBron (James), that’s not true,” Morris said. “He never told me not to take the deal. For as long as I’ve known Rich — and that’s still someone I have love for and that’s still my guy — he has been great in terms of advice. He told me he wanted me to take the Clippers deal. He gave me his advice.”
In the end, Morris said he made the decision he felt was best for both him and his family.
“Playing close to home, being from Philly, I get to see my family a lot.”
Hopefully, Morris will be happier playing a little closer to home.
