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It’s been less than a week since the Los Angeles Lakers were bounced from the NBA playoffs, ending their repeat bid. However, the team is already thinking about a title run and taking care of some “unfinished business,” as veteran forward Markieff Morris put it.
Morris fired off a tweet on Sunday thanking the Laker faithful and sending a message about next season.
“Thanks for the love and the support from Lakers Nation this year!” he wrote. “It was good to see you guys back in the staples! I know we came up short but we got some unfinished business!! I’ll just leave it at that!”
What’s interesting is that Morris is not under contract next season, having signed only a 1-year deal last offseason for the veteran’s minimum to “run it back” in Los Angeles. However, he sounds confident he could be back in purple and gold next season.
“This is definitely where I want to be. I think we have a good shot at running it back,” Morris told reporters after the season was over. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I feel like this is home for me.”
If he wants to run it back one more time in LA on a minimum deal, the team could welcome it. And money isn’t exactly a concern for Morris, as he has made almost $50 million in his career on the court. There’s also the fact that he would probably not fetch much more than the minimum, coming off a tough season where he averaged just 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. He also shot the 3-ball at just a 31.1% clip, the second-lowest mark of his career.
Markieff Morris Apologized to Suns Owner
Morris took time during his exit interview to apologize to Suns owner Robert Sarver over a “misunderstanding” they had during a game in Phoenix.
“I think he thought something happened that didn’t when [Chris Paul] got hurt, and I kind of said some stuff to him,” Morris told reporters. “I don’t know if he heard about it, but I apologize to him for that because it was a misunderstanding and, you know, I’m older now and I shouldn’t have replied the way I did and I just want him to know that.”
Morris has history with the Suns and Sarver. Phoenix drafted him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft and he played there until 2016. As far as the incident, Morris failed to expand on exactly what happened but at least he took the high road with an apology.
Lakers Hopefully to Keep Core Together
The Lakers weren’t dealt the best hand this season when it came to injury luck, with Anthony Davis and LeBron James both missing a chunk of the year. Then Davis was injured again in the postseason, which didn’t help the Lakers’ cause as they were bounced 4-2 by the Suns.
While the result is disappointing, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is hoping to keep the “core” group of the team together for another run.
“I’m convinced that, again, without some of the unforeseen circumstances this year, the challenges that we had to face, that we’d be a championship-caliber team,” he said. “So the goal is to try to keep that core group together.”
What that will look like is the question, with the Lakers facing some restrictions on what they can ultimately do due to the salary cap. The Lakers already have more than $100 million committed to James, Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma next season.
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