The Knicks’ two-year, $21 million contract with Reggie Bullock might fall through.
That has Marcus Morris – who agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with the Spurs – looking at New York.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Reporting with @MarcJSpearsESPN: Free agent Marcus Morris -- who committed to a two-year, $20M Spurs deal w/ player option -- is re-considering agreement. Morris is now considering a free agent deal with Knicks, who'll have additional cap space with reworking of Bullock deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 9, 2019
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:
Yahoo Sources: New York Knicks have a one-year, roughly $15 million offer on the table for Marcus Morris who is considering reneging on his two-year, $20 million agreement with San Antonio.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 9, 2019
Backing out of his agreement with the Spurs would not look good for Morris. That’s especially true this far after the moratorium, which ended Saturday. The NBA makes clear that no agreements reached during the moratorium are binding. Everyone treats those agreements as binding anyway, and it’s still a big deal to renege on one. But at least the league rules provide some cover. Now, it’d be even more ruthless.
San Antonio already traded Davis Bertans, a helpful rotation player, to the Wizards to make room for Morris and DeMarre Carroll. The Spurs would be left in a tough spot without Morris.
Morris has felt betrayed by a team before. He might not mind returning the favor, even if the harmed team isn’t the Suns. Morris could just view it as business after how he was treated.
A $15 million salary gives him plenty of reason to back out. He might also like playing in New York.
But Morris would be joining a worse team with a worse fit. The Knicks already have Julius Randle, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson in line for minutes at power forward. Morris would also surely play small forward, but he’s more effective at power forward. Still, Morris would be one of New York’s better free-agent additions this summer by current production.
The Knicks must clear enough cap space to pay Morris $15 million. Waiving Damyean Dotson would get them close but not all the way there. They could also include unlikely incentives (based on last year’s results) that would be relatively achievable.
Clearing cap room becomes more difficult if Bullock gets more than the room exception, but the way things are trending, that seems unlikely. What a tough break for him.
And maybe San Antonio.