The Toronto Raptors could look at a Markieff Morris trade this offseason, as the Phoenix Suns forward reportedly wants a deal to the Raptors or Houston Rockets after his brother Marcus was traded and this comes as Jonas Valanciunas has signed a contract extension to stay with the team and Terrence Ross could be next in line to get one.
The Raptors are putting together a strong core in Toronto under Masai Ujiri and the team clearly sees Valanciunas as part of the future. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Valanciunas and the Raptors have agreed to a four year deal worth $64 million. Yahoo Sports reports the deal is a "straight" contract with "no bonus incentives" and comes in well below the projected max for next year. Valanciunas is just 23 and he was a top 10 draft pick for the Raptors.
Last season Valanciunas shot over 57 percent from the floor and averaged a career best 12 points per game with 8.7 rebounds in 26 minutes a night. Valanciunas still has to improve on defense, but he is the main option at center and he is still very young and has room to develop for Toronto with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry on the roster. Lowry is the reason why Morris wants a trade to Toronto, as the two players have a relationship off the court.
Morris is reportedly unhappy with his situation in Phoenix after the Suns traded his twin brother and there is a chance a deal could happen before training camp. John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports reports that the Morris situation could get "ugly" for the Suns and that Morris has not been speaking with Suns staff or players this offseason. Gambadoro writes that Morris plans on "being standoffish" in camp and will not arrive until "he absolutely has to."
The Suns may want to avoid a situation where Morris is in camp unhappy and that could lead to a trade. Phoenix likely looked at the Marcus Morris deal as a business decision and Markieff may have taken that personally, but Markieff may also feel that the brothers gave the Suns a solid deal when they negotiated new contracts together. Morris has an affordable contract with four years and $32 million owed to him and he just posted the best stats of his career last season.
Pro Basketball Talk writes that the Raptors and Rockets each "make sense" for a Morris deal, as both teams have "several solid assets" and each also could "use another talented power forward." The Raptors are fairly set at power forward with Patrick Patterson and Luis Scola, but Patterson had lower scoring, rebounds and assists per game compared to Morris and shot for a lower percentage from the field. While that doesn't mean the Raptors will come through with a deal. Masai Ujiri has proven to be a smart GM and could pull something off.
The Toronto Sun reports that the Raptors and Terrence Ross have had "some talks" about an extension. Masai Ujiri reportedly said that the team has had some talks about a new deal and it comes after the team signed DeMarre Carroll this summer. The team has Ross coming off of ankle surgery and at 24 years old he still has years to develop.
Check here for more on the Raptors and the potential deals and extensions.