{"id":68383,"date":"2024-03-15T21:21:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-16T01:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=68383"},"modified":"2024-03-15T21:21:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T01:21:01","slug":"13-year-nba-veteran-joins-eastern-conference-contender-marcus-morris-cleveland-cavaliers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/15\/13-year-nba-veteran-joins-eastern-conference-contender-marcus-morris-cleveland-cavaliers\/","title":{"rendered":"13-Year NBA Veteran Joins Eastern Conference Contender"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to Milwaukee Bucks guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/beverpa01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrick Beverley<\/a>&#8216;s podcast, <em>Pat Bev Pod<\/em>, veteran wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/morrima03.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Morris<\/a> will sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Marcus Morris Sr. Is planning to sign with the Cleveland Cavs &#8211; Per Sources <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5NtNBnD0lY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/5NtNBnD0lY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PatBevPod\/status\/1768782038633414976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Morris began the season with the Los Angeles Clippers before the team dealt him to the Philadelphia 76ers in November in a package for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a>. After 37 games with the 76ers, Philadelphia traded Morris to the San Antonio Spurs in a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/08\/nba-news-indiana-pacers-trade-buddy-hield\/\" target=\"_self\">three-team trade<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hieldbu01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buddy Hield<\/a> from the Indiana Pacers. Morris never suited up for the Spurs, and the team waived him on February 29. After the Spurs waived him, expectations were that Morris would <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/12\/minnesota-timberwolves-rumors-marcus-morris-fits-wolves\/\" target=\"_self\">end up joining the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>. However, this obviously never came to fruition. Because he was bought out before March 1, Morris is eligible to play for Cleveland&#8217;s postseason roster.<\/p>\n<p>On the season, the 34-year-old is averaging 6.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Furthermore, Morris is shooting 43.9% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n<h2>13-Year NBA Veteran Joins Eastern Conference Contender<\/h2>\n<h3>Marcus Morris is a Good Pickup for the Cavaliers<\/h3>\n<p>Signing Morris will not guarantee a championship for Cleveland. However, he is a good player for the team to acquire. Morris is a tough and aggressive player on both sides of the floor. He is a good three-point shooter who can spot up or create his own shot. Furthermore, he is a versatile defender who can guard on the perimeter and in the paint. Morris is also a very underrated post player both on offense and defense. Though he is not as effective as he was a few years ago he is a long-time veteran who has been on successful teams for numerous seasons. Additionally, Morris can play both forward positions well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed Marcus Morris<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EMqABZnULz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/EMqABZnULz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Across The Cavs (@AcrossCavs) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AcrossCavs\/status\/1768795738060832862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As he will likely be used mostly coming off the bench, Morris is a very good depth piece. Currently, the Cavaliers are missing forwards <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/strusma01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Strus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mobleev01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Mobley<\/a>. Neither player has played a game since early March, and it is unclear when they will return to the court. Bringing in Morris will allow them some much-needed rest ahead of the postseason. Additionally, Morris may even crack the team&#8217;s playoff rotation, which will help sure up their second unit.<\/p>\n<h3>Where Cleveland Now Stands in the Eastern Conference<\/h3>\n<p>In large part due to their core of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garlada01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darius Garland<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mitchdo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Mitchell<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/allenja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-15_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jarrett Allen<\/a>, and Mobley, the Cavaliers are a top team in the Eastern Conference. Currently, the Cavaliers are the No. 3 seed in the East and are just 0.5 games behind the Bucks for the No. 2 seed. Though they have yet to officially clinch a spot, it seems inevitable the Cavaliers will make it to the playoffs. Signing Morris gives them a boost for a late-season push to potentially finish ahead of the Bucks in the standings.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word on Marcus Morris to the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/h3>\n<p>Morris is a solid, well-rounded veteran who can act as an enforcer on a relatively young Cavaliers team. This is a very low-risk, high-reward signing for the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley&#8216;s podcast, Pat Bev Pod, veteran wing Marcus Morris will sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Marcus Morris Sr. Is planning to sign with the Cleveland Cavs &#8211; Per Sources pic.twitter.com\/5NtNBnD0lY \u2014 Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) March 15, 2024 Morris began the season with the Los Angeles Clippers before the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4631,"featured_media":68385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,9,2,11,27,15,21,62,3,13],"tags":[256,1937,900,3966,444,1043,369,1478,494],"class_list":["post-68383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-featured","category-pacers","category-clippers","category-bucks","category-timberwolves","category-nba","category-news","category-76ers","tag-buddy-hield","tag-darius-garland","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-evan-mobley","tag-james-harden","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-marcus-morris","tag-max-strus","tag-patrick-beverley"],"modified_by":"Elie Deglaoui","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}