Report: Morris Twins Sign 4-Year Contracts With Phoenix Suns
By Tony Burgess
Mar 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris (15) and forward Markieff Morris (11) battle for positioning during the second quarter at US Airways Center. The Suns won 112-88. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
It has been reported for several weeks now that the Phoenix Suns were looking to extend, both, Markieff and Marcus Morris to long-term contracts as they were at the end of their rookie deals. The Morris twins have contributed a lot to the Suns’ organization in their short time together on the team.
While Marcus was drafted one spot before Markieff in the 2011 NBA draft, Markieff has developed into a more complete NBA player. Markieff was up for NBA 6th man of the year award in 2013 finishing 4th in the voting. Markieff posted stats of 14 points per game and 6 rebounds per game to help propel the Suns to a 48-win season in 2013.
Marcus had descent stats of his own by having 10 points per game and 4 rebounds per game in 2013 but it was not as high production as his brother, Markieff.
Rumors have been circulating that the duo would accept lower contracts in order to stay together on the Suns. It was also being reported that the brothers could have the exact same contract which would be weird considering Markieff has been playing better than Marcus.
As it turns out, they both received 4-year contracts today but Markeiff did in fact receive a larger contract than his brother Marcus. Here is is being reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic:
The #Suns gave the Morris twins a total & asked how they'd split it. Keef 4/$32M, Marcus 4/$20M. More from PHX brass: http://t.co/CcR0eBhJDX
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 29, 2014
So Markieff got about $8 million per year while Marcus got $5 million per year. Both deals are in the Suns’ favor as they will need the extra money for next season when they try to extend, point guard, Goran Dragic’s contract.
The Suns now have two quality big men for the next four years at a very reasonable price so both sides are winners in this deal. The Morris twins get to stay together on the same team for 4 more years and the Suns get to save some money for other areas of need.