Marcus Morris has found himself a home in Detroit.
After being separated from his twin brother, Markieff and being traded to the Pistons, the two expressed their displeasure with the Phoenix Suns front office. Yet somehow, they found a vastly different destiny.
Markieff had a down year in Phoenix and lost his starting spot to Jon Leuer. Once the team fell out of playoff contention, the power forward was given a few games to showcase his talent before he was traded to the Washington Wizards.
Marcus Morris' great year in Detroit
Marcus stayed the course during training camp and won the starting small forward spot over highly-touted rookie Stanley Johnson.
The move resulted in a career year for the Kansas alum, recording career-highs in points (14.1), rebounds (5.1), assists (2.5), free-throws made (2.5) and minutes per game (35.7) in 80 starts for Detroit.
Marcus became an integral part of the Pistons make-up and a reliable source of toughness for coach Stan Van Gundy.
“I’m just trusting in my work, trusting in Stan Van Gundy,” Morris told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “He’s been straight up and down with me since I’ve been here and I’ve been straight up and down with him.”
Van Gundy is now asking for a leadership role out of his small forward, who will start his second season with the team.
“I definitely take what Stan is saying, that I have to really step into the forefront and show that I’m one of the guys that’s going to be a leader of this team,” said Morris. “I really show by my work for the most part. I come in and I grind every day – ‘Yes, coach; no, coach.’ I go back to when you do things the right way, I feel like great things happen for you. I respect the game of basketball. I try to lead by example, but I definitely understand where he’s at when he says he wants me to be more vocal, wants me to call out guys a little more, and I’m willing to do it. Whatever it takes for the Detroit Pistons to be in the playoffs next year, that’s what I’m willing to do.”
An appreciative Marcus Morris
Morris had spent his whole academic-athletic experience with his twin brother, including their time at Kansas and even share a bank account to this day.
Landing in Detroit and slowly taking in what the city and the team had to offer, has changed his perspective of his game and purpose.
“I’m happy I went through the things I did to get to the point I am now,” he said. “These opportunities don’t come a lot. I’m one of the guys that’s going to seize the opportunity. I’m blessed to be here today and blessed to be around these guys and blessed Stan gave me the opportunity to come in here and play right away. Blessed to be here.”
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