The Los Angeles Clippers won the race for sought-after forward Marcus Morris after acquiring him from the New York Knicks during the NBA trade deadline last Thursday. The Clips forked over Moe Harkless and a 2020 first-round pick to New York and Jerome Robinson to the Washington Wizards.
Apart from adding more depth to their already formidable bench, the Clippers once again bested crosstown rivals Los Angeles Lakers who were reportedly in hard pursuit for Morris' services.
Per a report from the Los Angeles Times, the Knicks didn't like the Lakers' initial offer of swapping Morris for Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green.
The New York brass, however, overplayed their hand and countered with an even bigger haul of Kuzma, Avery Bradley, DeMarcus Cousins, and at least one second-round pick.
The Lakers deemed the Knicks' asking price as too much and ultimately rejected the proposal.
After serving as a role player in his first eight seasons in the league, Marcus Morris' stock has risen this season as he became the go-to guy in The Big Apple.
The 30-year-old forward is enjoying career-highs across the board for the despondent Knicks, tallying 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 43.9 from deep.
Morris' gritty persona also seems to fit well for the Clippers who are expected to make a deep run in postseason. The team has the second-best record in the Western Conference at 36-15.
The Lakers, on the other hand, failed to make a splash at the deadline and kept its roster intact. The team is still in need of secondary playmaker and is reportedly prying Darren Collison out of retirement to fill the void.
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