Washington, D.C. – Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired forward Markieff Morris from Phoenix in exchange for forwards DeJuan Blair and Kris Humphries and a 2016 protected first round draft pick.
“Markieff is a versatile, young power forward who brings athleticism and physicality along with a good shooting touch,” said Grunfeld. “He will be a very good addition to our team as we make our playoff push and gives us a proven starter at that position for the next several years.”
Morris (6-10, 245) holds career averages of 11.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 345 career games (145 starts) while shooting .443 from the field, .324 from three-point range and .759 from the line in four-plus years with Phoenix. The 13th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft averaged 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting .465 from the field and .318 from three-point range in 82 games (all starts) with the Suns last season. He posted career-highs with 65 games of 10+ points, 19 games of 20+ points, seven games with 25+ points and three games of 30+ points along with 12 games of 10+ rebounds and 12 double-doubles in 2014-15. Morris also led the NBA by shooting 54.3 FG% (19-35 FG) in the final two minutes of one-possession games.
Morris has averaged 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 37 games (24 starts) with the Suns this season. In those 24 starts, he has averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. Morris was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games from Nov. 4-10, 2013, and finished fourth in the voting for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2013-14. He was teammates with current Wizards Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley for two seasons with the Suns (2011-13).
Blair was originally acquired by Washington on July 17, 2014, and averaged 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds in 58 games in parts of two seasons with the Wizards. Humphries was originally acquired by Washington on July 19, 2014, and averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in a trade with Boston in 92 games in parts of two seasons with the Wizards.
“We thank Kris and DeJuan for their professionalism and their contributions to our team,” said Grunfeld. “We wish them the best moving forward in their careers.”
