Twins Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris had played together for their entire lifetime — from high school, to college, to the NBA, despite being drafted by different teams in consecutive picks.
July 2015 marked the time when the two brothers would go their separate ways, as Marcus was shocked to learn the Phoenix Suns had traded him to the Detroit Pistons. The brothers were hurt and angry and felt betrayed, according to ESPN's Jackie MacMullan.
“That's when I really went to a dark place,” Marcus said. “It was so cold what they did. After that, I made up my mind. I wasn't having no more relationships with any front-office people. I wasn't getting close to any more guys on the team. I was done. The team was over there, and I was going to be over here.”
This led to angst toward NBA teams by both brothers, as Markieff's ruptured relationship with the Suns made for rifts with the coaching staff and the team's brass, soon after getting traded to the Washington Wizards by the trade deadline.
His brother Marcus had a growing battle with himself, even making him consider quitting basketball altogether, according to MacMullan.
“I start asking myself, ‘Is this for me?'” Morris says. “Growing up, I loved the game so much — it was the only thing that made me happy. But now it's stressing me out. It's all negative. It's all business, and I'm having trouble with that. So you start flipping back and forth. The money is great, but is it good for me as a human? Shouldn't that matter more than anything?”
The Pistons had welcomed him with open arms, but the strain of being away from his brother and suddenly being hit with the business that the NBA is, was just too much to bear at the time.
But quitting would mean going back to an impoverished North Philly after having dedicated his life to basketball, ultimately choosing to see it through despite the anxiety it created for him.
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