Suns announce contract extensions for Markieff and Marcus Morris
The Phoenix Suns have locked up the Morris Twins (Markieff and Marcus) to long-term contract extensions.
By
Zach Harper
•
2 min read
The Morris twins haven't been separated on the basketball court much in their life and they're not about to go back to it again. After spending the first season and a half of their respective careers in the NBA apart, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris found themselves both on the Phoenix Suns in the 2012-13 season. As of right now, the plan is stick around there for the next five years, at least.
The Suns announced on Monday the team has agreed on contract extensions for both players. The Markieff Morris deal is believed to be worth four years, $32 million while the Marcus Morris deal is four years and $20 million. Both players have one more year on their respective rookie contracts before the new contracts kick in. From the Suns:
The Phoenix Suns have signed forwards Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris to multiyear contract extensions, the team announced today.
"We are particularly pleased to have reached extension agreements with Marcus and Markieff before the start of training camp," said President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. "There is an extraordinary bond between these twin brothers; they make each other better players and better men. We take pride in their growth and look forward to their bright futures."
"We are excited to be able to extend the contracts of Marcus and Markieff," said General Manager Ryan McDonough. "They have had great success playing together at every level of basketball, including last season with the Suns. They have made great strides over the past year and we feel like they will continue to grow and improve. They are just entering their primes and we think they will play the best basketball of their careers over the course of the next five years."
Markieff started his career with the Suns when they drafted him with the 13th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He started to work his way into the starting lineup his second season when he started 32 of the 82 games he played in, averaging 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 22.4 minutes. In 2013-14, he made a big leap with averages of 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 26.6 minutes. He finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Marcus was drafted 14th in the 2011 draft by the Houston Rockets. He barely got off the bench in his first season, playing just 126 minutes in 17 games. He was averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.4 minutes in the 2012-13 season before he was traded to the Suns in February for a second round pick that ended up being Isaiah Canaan. In his first full season with the Suns in 2013-14, he averaged 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.0 minutes while making 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers.
