Getty San Antonio Spurs forward Marcus Morris.
After posting on Twitter that an announcement was coming soon, free agent forward Marcus Morris made good on that promise and agreed to a two-year, $20-million contract with the San Antonio Spurs, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Speculation that Morris could go to the Los Angeles Lakers was aplenty after the announcement that Kawhi Leonard was going to the Clippers. However, Morris poured cold water on that when he took to Twitter to say that he wasn’t going to Los Angeles.
Morris spent the last two years in Boston and was a solid contributor as a part-time starter for the Celtics. The Spurs will be the fifth team that Morris has played for. LaMarcus Aldridge will surely continue to be the starting power forward for the Spurs and incumbent Bryn Forbes seems in line to be the starting small forward for the team. Look for Morris to get some starts, but to spend most of the year as the anchor for the team’s second unit.
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Spurs Roster & Starting Lineup After Free Agent Signings
* – Denotes Starter
PG: Dejounte Murray*
SG: DeMar DeRozan*
SF: Bryn Forbes*
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge*
C: Jakob Poeltl*
Bench: Marcus Morris, Rudy Gay, DeMarre Carroll, Derrick White, Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli, Lonnie Walker IV, Quinndary Weatherspoon, Davis Bertans, Quincy Pondexter, Keldon Johnson, Dante Cunningham, Donatas Motiejunas, Luka Samanic, Chimezie Metu
Spurs Roster Outlook
After being forced to trade away their best player in Kawhi Leonard a year ago, the Spurs did the best with what they could. The city of San Antonio doesn’t have a lot of appeal to free agents and a lot of the great draft picks the team has made in the past are no longer around. As long as the Spurs have Gregg Popovich around, they’ll still be a threat to win any game, but it’s going to be tough with so much talent out west.
The additions of Marcus Morris and DeMarre Carroll gives the team depth. At 33 years old, LaMarcus Aldridge can still put some big games together, but he’s definitely going to be on the decline sooner rather than later. DeMar DeRozan is still in his prime and should continue to do well in his second year with the team.
On the surface, the Spurs are the third most talented team in the state of Texas. They lack a flashy star like a James Harden or Kristaps Porzingis, but they’ve been the model of consistency for years. Even though they were marred with drama prior to last season, they still made it to the playoffs and took the Denver Nuggets to seven games.
With the Lakers and Clippers improving greatly, the road to the playoffs will be much more difficult for the Spurs in the upcoming season. However, Popovich can get the best out of his players. Aldridge and DeRozan are proven all-stars and can carry their team to the playoffs. They probably won’t be sniffing the finals this year, but don’t be surprised if they threaten to play spoiler to a top seed in the playoffs come next spring.
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