New York Knicks forward Marcus Morris received plenty of flak for the way he handled his free agency this past summer. The veteran had a verbal agreement for two years and $20 million with the San Antonio Spurs, but reportedly “ghosted” them as soon as the Knicks came calling with an offer of their own.
According to Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report, Morris backed out of his verbal commitment (which he gave personally) and offered only radio silence in the follow-through, failing to show up for his scheduled physical exam before putting pen to paper with New York.
“Morris essentially treated the Spurs like a person who goes on a first and second date and then ghosts the other person, leaving them to question what went wrong,” wrote Scotto.
Morris signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Knicks, as he and his former agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, parted ways. The veteran forward would then sign with agent Sam Permut of Roc Nation for his future representation.
The Spurs were left “scorned” and angry after they dealt Davis Bertans, a beloved player in their locker room, to make room for Morris.
According to Scotto, Morris and Bertans joined Kawhi Leonard as names now no longer spoken by team employees.
Morris joined the likes of Hedo Turkoglu, Carlos Boozer, DeAndre Jordan and Nemanja Bjelica on the shortlist of contemporary NBA players who have gone back against their word.
Unlike the aforementioned, the Spurs actually dealt away one of their homegrown talents to reel in Morris — something that infuriated head coach Gregg Popovich and others in the front office.
In a league where word is bond, Marcus Morris broke the unspoken code of player conduct by not addressing the situation, something that would have to wait until the Spurs and Knicks met for the first time in the season opener.
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