LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers were unable to make a deal ahead of the NBA trade deadline and couldn't convince Darren Collison to come out of retirement to join them. With potential trades and Collison off the table, Los Angeles jumped at the opportunity to sign forward Markieff Morris after he was bought out by the Detroit Pistons.

On Tuesday, Morris made his Lakers debut and talked about the experience of wearing the purple and gold for the first time at the Staples Center.

“It felt great,” Morris said of his Lakers debut. “I was excited to get out there with the team. I'm excited for the opportunity. I was tired as hell out there tonight. I haven't played in two and a half weeks. I had a good feel for it. Trying to get my feet under me.”

Along with finally getting back on the basketball floor, Morris was able to play with LeBron James for the first time, and the three-time NBA champion came to play against the New Orleans Pelicans. James dropped a season-high 40 points on New Orleans and earned high praise from his new teammate, who believes he's still the best player in the NBA.

“Just trying to pick my spots, really,” Morris said of playing with LeBron. “Trying to play off of him. Best player in the game. He makes the job a lot easier for us. I think we got something special.”

With the Lakers being a tight-knit group with great chemistry at this point in the season, Morris talked about what it is like coming into a team that is so close and plays so well together. It's a tough transition for a veteran player to join a title contender that's already clicking, but he has his connections to some of his new teammates, especially Jared Dudley.

“For me, I'm a low-key kind of guy,” Morris said. “A bunch of these guys I've been around and I've known. I've been on three teams with Dudley. He makes it easier for me to come here and get acclimated with these guys, but like I said, I've known a bunch of these guys for a couple of years now. It was easy, man. I'm an easy-going guy.

“I might look a little tough or mean or something like that, but it's just on the court. I got to play that role.”

It has been a rough season for the Pistons, who appear to be ready to rebuild. Detroit saw Blake Griffin go down with another knee injury and traded star center Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month. Morris was bought out as well as Reggie Jackson, who ended up signing with the L.A. Clippers to join Markieff's brother, Marcus Morris.

Going from one of the worst teams in the NBA to the cream of the crop of the Western Conference is quite a drastic shift, and Morris is embracing the move as he knows he has a great chance of winning a title in Los Angeles this season.

“It means everything,” Morris said. “It means everything to be in the purple and gold. Growing up from where Kobe is from…putting on this jersey is special. It's special to be a part of this group, and I'm just happy to be here.”