After making the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2021, the Los Angeles Clippers have not found the postseason success they have been searching for. As a result of losing in the first-round of the playoffs this past season, the Clippers are aggressively looking to upgrade their roster this offseason, which has resulted in Marcus Morris Sr. being a player coming up in trade talks.
Recently finishing his 12th NBA season, Morris has been with the Clippers since the 2019-20 season and has always been known to be a secondary scoring option out on the wing. A tough-minded forward, Morris was involved in a three-team trade this past week that would have resulted in the Clippers landing Malcolm Brogdon from the Boston Celtics.
Ultimately, trade talks fell through due to some medical concerns regarding Brogdon. However, Morris remains on the trade block, as the team is still attempting to trade the 33-year-old forward, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
The Clippers currently own one of the league's highest payrolls at $228 million and this number is only set to increase as the years go on. A high tax-paying team, moving on from Morris' contract would save Los Angeles a lot of money in taxes and could ultimately help them with the league's new CBA guidelines coming into play soon.
Morris is entering the final year of his contract and is set to make $17.1 million during the 2023-24 season. While he can still contribute on a playoff contending team, it seems much more likely that any team willing to take on his contract would waive him instead. Following the fallout of this three-team deal, it's plausible to believe that the Clippers would need to attach draft picks in any trade to unload Morris' salary for the year.
Playing in 65 games this past season, all of which he started in, Morris averaged 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range for the Clippers.
Despite Morris denying rumors suggesting he is unhappy in Los Angeles, it does seem like a change in scenery is on the horizon for the veteran. Cutting some costs will be essential for the Clippers this offseason and unloading Marcus Morris Sr. in the final year of his contract is looking increasingly more likely for this franchise.
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