Official: Markieff Morris Signs with Thunder
Last Thursday, reports surfaced that free agent forward Markieff Morris had agreed to sign with the Thunder for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Sam Presti has confirmed the partnership with Morris is now official.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed free agent forward Markieff Morris, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
via OKC Thunder
Morris officially joins the Thunder with 25 games remaining in the season, reportedly expecting to play a “significant” role off the bench in the OKC frontcourt. While that’s expected to come mostly at the expense of Patrick Patterson’s playing time, just how/where Billy Donovan plans to utilize the 29-year-old veteran is unknown. With the paperwork now complete, Morris can join his new teammates and begin carving out a role for himself — potentially even as soon as Friday’s home game versus the Jazz.
Here’s ESPN’s Bobby Marks on the financial side:
Oklahoma City makes it official on the signing of Markieff Morris. The four-month investment will cost the Thunder $2.2M in combined salary and luxury tax costs. The forward will earn $573,295 with $427,288 being applied to the salary cap. The Thunder received significant savings when Alex Abrines agreed to give back $1.78M of his remaining salary. The luxury tax in Oklahoma City now stands at $60.98M.-Bobby Marks, ESPN
Morris averaged 11.5 points (43.6% FG, 33.3% 3P), and 5.1 rebounds in 34 appearances for the Wizards this season. It’s yet to be determined if he will be available on Friday night against the Jazz.
More from Daily Thunder on the addition of Morris:
