Sixers ‘Weighing Their Options’ on Signing Miami Heat Enforcer

Heat bench

Getty Kyle Lowry #7 (far left) and Markieff Morris #8 (far right of the Miami Heat react from the bench against the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter in Game Four of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

Markieff Morris expressed his utmost desire to play for his hometown Philadelphia 76ers back on July 7. Morris tweeted that he’s “been wanting to for a while now.” And the Sixers might be interested in signing him.

Morris is an unrestricted free agent after the Miami Heat moved on from him. The 32-year-old inked a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the team that knocked Philly out of last season’s playoffs, but the experiment didn’t work. Morris only saw action in 17 games for Miami following a vicious neck injury courtesy of Nikola Jokic. He averaged 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.

According to Jason Dumas, Morris’ preference is to play for the Sixers (duh, Morris confirmed that himself) but the real kicker in the report is that the Sixers have “given this a thought.” That means they are interested in possibly signing Morris. The former first-round pick out of Kansas wants to sign with a contender this season.

James Harden told Sixers’ management that he wants to win a championship no matter what the cost. That includes taking less money if it means signing key free agents. Harden doesn’t care if he leaves money on the table, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

“I had conversations with Daryl, and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players,” Harden told Haynes. “I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give whatever is left over. This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage.”

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Morris Also Linked to Los Angeles Clippers

Morris has also been linked to possibly teaming up with his twin brother, Marcus, on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Philly native who split time at Prep Charter and APEX Academy might have a preference to go back home but he’s not ruling out Hollywood. The siblings have shared a locker room at every level of basketball: high school, college, NBA.

NBA Media’s Shaun Powell asked the Morris twins about teaming up again during a 2020 interview:

Marcus Morris: I would hope so. (But) he’s in a great spot in L.A. and I’m in a great spot in … L.A. (laughs). Well I guess it happened that we’re at least in the same city. It’s fun, man. It’s fun.

Markieff Morris: No matter how it turns out, we’re stuck at the hip.


Morris Perfect Guy to Send Message to Jokic

Joel Embiid has been robbed of MVP honors by Jokic for two years running. The league’s scribes don’t seem to value the Sixers big man all that much. Well, Markieff Morris might be the perfect guy to send a message to Jokic. The Denver Nuggets star cost him the majority of the 2021-22 season after shoving Morris in the back and injuring his neck. It was a retaliatory move, although borderline dirty.

Jokic was suspended for one game without pay. There is no love lost there.

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