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The Los Angeles Lakers will be very different from what they were last season after the eventful offseason they had, but there will still be a handful of familiar faces, including Markieff Morris, who announced that he joined the Lakers on Monday. .
Morris didn’t join the squad until after the trade deadline in February, but it didn’t take too long for him to fit on or off the pitch. In the playoffs, Morris averaged 5.9 points per game while shooting 42% from behind the arc. He also gave the Lakers a bit more resistance on the defensive glass.
These things apparently made him a favorite of Anthony Davis, who the Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner said made it known he wanted Morris to return (via Spectrum SportsNet):
“I think the market was getting really, really dry for (Morris) and some players, so in this case Markieff knew the best place for him was with the Lakers, but what about that? There’s a guy named Anthony Davis who wanted him to come back. He wanted him to come back because he’s tough, because he plays defense, he rebounds, he can shoot all three, open the pitch and again he’s a versatile player. One thing the Lakers have really enjoyed having and been successful with is players who can play both offense and defense, and you don’t mind being a good teammate and in the locker room.
The funny thing about Davis wanting Morris back is that Morris’s ability to space out the floor makes it more tempting for Frank Vogel to play Davis in the middle, which Davis would rather not do. It’s also funny because Davis technically hasn’t signed with the Lakers yet, so he’s helping bring players back to a team he doesn’t even play for. If it’s not a commitment, I don’t know what is.
It’s hard to predict where Morris will fit into Vogel’s rotation next season as there are so many spots on the roster to fill, but if he cuts down 3 points at the pace he did in the playoffs all by being aggressive on the defensive side, he will certainly see the ground in abundance.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast on itunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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