The Phoenix Suns selected Markieff Morris with the 13th overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, and by all accounts, he was the player they wanted at that spot. While the team had interest in players like Tristan Thompson and Jimmer Fredette, they weren’t likely to be available by the time the Suns were on the clock, and Morris was a guy they worked out and had high on their list.
Suns’ GM Lance Blanks said that the way the dominoes started to fall in the draft had little to do with the team’s selection. Despite talented players like Kawhi Leonard still being on the board, there was little temptation to deviate from the plan.
“We stayed true to our process,” Blanks said. “We’re very process driven and we spent a lot of time researching every guy in the draft who we thought made sense for this organization. [Morris’] name surfaced as a possibility as we looked at the numbers, and we’re pretty excited. It all made sense based on where we had him on the board.”
Phoenix missed the playoffs last season, and a lack of consistent rebounding and interior defense from their bigs were among the reasons why. Morris should be able to immediately impact those needs, and would also seem to be a great fit for what the Suns like to do offensively. In his final season at Kansas, Morris averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and knocked down over 42 percent of his three-point attempts.
Morris was asked which NBA player he models his game after.
“Rasheed Wallace -- without the attitude,” he said.
A little attitude wouldn’t be too bad for Phoenix, and in fact, Blanks talked about Markieff’s intangibles, and specifically his toughness as big reasons why the Suns selected him.
“All of his intangibles,” Blanks said, when asked what he liked most about Morris. “He’s tough. We have a team that is resilient, but he offers us a mental and a physical toughness that is almost impossible to quantify with numbers. He’ll be able to balance out our front line and offer us a toughness that is much needed here.”
This was Blanks’ first draft as Suns GM, and it was an important one for the franchise. By picking Morris, the team addressed some obvious needs, but more importantly, Blanks feels that the selection exemplifies the type of club that Phoenix aspires to be.
“This gives us an opportunity to lay our imprint on this organization and this team,” Blanks said. “This is our first draft choice and first opportunity through the draft to do that. So, very excited to have the opportunity for the pick but also a pick that reflects who we are and what we want to be about.”