'There's No Personal Beef': Markieff Morris Dishes on Mavs' Kyrie Trade, History with Luka

Although Kyrie Irving grabbed the main headline when the Dallas Mavericks made their blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, Markieff Morris could end up being a useful piece from that deal as well.

Dalton Trigg | Feb 9, 2023

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Dallas Mavericks

Lost in the madness of the Dallas Mavericks trading for Kyrie Irving on Sunday is the fact that they acquired another player who could potentially be useful for their playoff push as well – Markieff Morris.

Mavs fans are likely more familiar with Markieff's twin brother, Marcus Morris, who became an arch nemesis to Luka Doncic during Dallas' playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2020 and 2021.

Markieff Morris' numbers with the Brooklyn Nets weren't eye-popping, as he averaged 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds while playing 10.6 minutes in just 27 games. However, through his 12-year career, Morris has averaged 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds through 742 games, shooting 44.6 percent overall and 34.2 percent from deep.

When asked about a big trade, Morris gave some candid thoughts on his exit from Brooklyn.

“I was just hoping I was getting traded with [Kyrie]," Morris said. "I just wanted somewhere I could have the opportunity to play. .... just a lot going on, man. I just want to play basketball.”

Given the history between Marcus Morris and Doncic over the years, many wondered if there would be any hard feelings the other Morris twin joining the Mavs. However, Markieff insists that it's all water under the bridge.

"There’s no personal beef, no vendetta," Morris said. "That’s just how we play sometimes. We might foul the s*** out of you. It just is what it is. ... Some people might call it dirty. I just call it playing tough."

Needless to say, it should be a lot better having a Morris twin as a teammate than actually having to go up against him. Perhaps Markieff Morris can be the Mavs' version of DeShawn Stevenson from 2011. With Dallas' current lack of wing depth, he should certainly have the opportunity to carve out a role form himself.

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Published Feb 9, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.