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Los Angeles Lakers: Why a Marcus Morris trade won’t happen

By Jason Reed

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 15: Marcus Morris Sr. #13 of the New York Knicks puts up a shot against Will Barton III #5 of the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on December 15, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 15: Marcus Morris Sr. #13 of the New York Knicks puts up a shot against Will Barton III #5 of the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on December 15, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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One name that has been prominent in the Los Angeles Lakers rumors is Marcus Morris, who is an option to target in exchange for Kyle Kuzma.

The NBA Trade Deadline is fast approaching and chances are that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to experience some sort of shake-up before noon hits on February 6. The Lakers, who are bonafide title contenders, would be foolish to not explore possibilities in improving the team, something that seems to happen at midseason with every LeBron James-led team.

The player that has been involved in the tornado of trade rumors the most is Kyle Kuzma, who is the last of the young core that has trade value. Kuzma is a solid player in his own regard, but his defensive miscues along with his position and style of play are not a perfect fit in this system.

The Lakers could definitely make it work with Kuzma and still win the NBA Championship, but it does feel like fitting a square peg into a round hole.

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There have been several names that have been tied to the Lakers in return for Kuzma with the most recent being New York Knicks forward, Marcus Morris. Morris is having a career-year in New York and his playstyle would seemingly fit much better in LA than Kuzma.

Morris is undoubtedly a better defender than Kuzma and has been 10.2 percent better from the three-point line this season. Morris’ ability to play both the three and the four and guard other wings would be huge for the Lakers, allowing the team to mask LeBron James on defense more often.

The fit is there and the reports of the Knicks shopping Kyle Kuzma back it up, with the speculation being for Marcus Morris.

The Lakers would get a veteran player who fits the team much better than Kuzma while the Knicks would get another young player to build around. It makes a lot of sense for both parties — up until it doesn’t.

The one massive problem with this trade happening is the salaries of both players. Morris is one a one-year contract that is paying him $15 million, while Kuzma is making $1.97 million. According to the ESPN Trade Machine, the Lakers would have to send another $12.4 million in salary to make this possible.

The only player that could make this work (outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis) would be Danny Green. And while Green has underperformed at times this season, it would not make sense from a practical sense to trade his three and D efforts with Kuzma for one three and D player.

Plus, both Kuzma and Green are under contract for one more season. With the Lakers pursuing a max extension with Anthony Davis, they are not going to have much to spend in free agency and need to hold onto the contracts that they do have.

The other route would be to include Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but that would take more as well. It would either take adding Avery Bradley to the package or trading multiple players, such as Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels.

You could make the case that this could make sense for the Los Angeles Lakers if they get a first-round pick in return. The Knicks have the Mavericks’ 2021 first-round pick and that could turn into either a trade piece or roster-building piece in the future. However, New York would be foolish to trade picks away at this point, especially a pick that was received for Kristaps Porzingis.

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It just does not practically work for both sides. So while Marcus Morris would undoubtedly make the Los Angeles Lakers better if he had Kyle Kuzma’s minutes, it is a situation that will never leave the drawing board.

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