The Boston Celtics should resign Marcus Morris
The most unsung free agent on the Boston Celtics this offseason is Marcus Morris. The University of Kansas product is an unrestricted free agent for the first time. Will he return to a team that faced plenty of turmoil during the 2018-19 season?
The Boston Celtics have several major decisions this summer, as has been well documented on this very site. We know the big names hitting the free agent market in Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Terry Rozier.
The Boston Celtics also have some smaller decisions to make as well in regards to their roster heading into next season. It goes beyond just the superstars. Boston has some talented role players who can skip town.
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Marcus Morris happens to be one of them. Morris came over in a highly scrutinized deal in 2017 that saw longtime Celtics fan favorite Avery Bradley sent to the Detroit Pistons. With the Celtics have Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, the move made sense.
When the team traded Bradley’s best friend Isaiah Thomas later that summer for Irving, it appeared that Danny Ainge knew exactly what he was doing. Gone was the 2016-17 core that looked like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference before LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed that narrative.
This newly built Boston Celtics team was more well-rounded. In an era that is being defined by position-less basketball, Ainge looked like he had built a certifiable contender.
We all know how that story unfolded. There was the miraculous run in the 2018 playoffs that saw an undermanned Celtics team come one win away from the NBA Finals. There was the 2018-19 version that faltered under the weight of their expectations.
In the thick of it all, though, was Morris. Despite his comments in the middle of the season ripping the locker room, he never gave up on his team. He played over 30 minutes in all but one of the Celtics’ playoff games against Milwaukee. He shot 25-40 (63%) from the field. The Boston Celtics were a plus-four box plus/minus with Morris on the floor.
Morris did all of this making just $5.5 million for the year. If the Celtics can retain him for anything less than $12 million annually, he would be worth every penny. With free agent money likely to be tossed at the abundance of superstars and intriguing restricted free agents out there, that seems like a realistic number for his next deal.
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The Boston Celtics need to make that happen. On a roster full of question marks, whether it be young stars not taking”the leap” or All-Stars underperforming, Morris is a beacon of consistency. You know what you’re going to get.
Now the Celtics just need to get him to sign on the bottom line.