Portland Trail Blazers Lakers target No. 2 -Markieff Morris
If Portland is looking for some muscle in the paint at a discount price, Markieff Morris may be a perfect addition for the team.
The power forward position has been an area of concern for the Portland Trail Blazers all year long. Initially, it had seemed Zach Collins would be making the full time transition to starting power forward. However, after a shoulder dislocation and ensuing surgery ended his regular season, and an ankle hairline stress fracture (also surgery) ended his Bubble run, the four position is once again in question.
Even if Collins returns healthy, this area of the roster is bound to require tweaking. Carmelo Anthony’s future with the team remains in question, and if he does return, will the three or four be his desired position? Wenyen Gabriel and Nassir Little have shown signs of promise but may be too green to enter into a consistent, solidified role within the team.
Nine year veteran Morris may be the perfect backup power forward for the franchise. At 6’8” and 245 pounds, Morris would give Portland much needed size in the paint. Assuming Whiteside is too expensive to keep on the roster, Jusuf Nurkić and Caleb Swanigan become the only Blazers possessing a significant physical presence.
Adding Morris to the mix could specifically fix Portland’s defensive rebounding, which led to a league worst 15.5 second chance points last season.
Beyond his size, Morris remains one of the better shooting power forwards in the league, averaging 38.6 percent from beyond the arc last season. Because of the offensive threat Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum provide other teams, it’s easy to imagine Morris sinking wide open corner shots as one of Portland’s guard drives to the basket.
Morris would likely have to accept a reserve role were he to join the Portland Trail Blazers. However, after averaging just 14.5 minutes with the Lakers last season, coming off the bench for Portland could in fact be a perfect situation.