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The NBA trade deadline arrived at 3 p.m. today and Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld made some deals ahead of it, sending centers Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair, plus a first round draft pick, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for power forward Markieff Morris. With this arrangement, the Wizards (23-28, 10th in the Eastern Conference) dump two staples from their bench and gain an erratic 26-year-old with a pricey contract. (His $8 million paycheck is the Wizards’ fourth most expensive contract, behind John Wall, Nene, and Marcin Gortat.)
Kardash-ing Away: Humphries showed stretches of greatness in his time with the Wiz, notably scoring his first three pointers in a decade in a game against the Orlando Magic this past November, but ended up spending much of the season on the bench, appearing in only 28 of the team’s 52 games. Now that he’s over 30 and with fellow centers Gortat and Nene healthy, his departure was inevitable. The same goes for Blair, who, after starting his career and nearly winning a championship with San Antonio, never found a slot in coach Randy Wittman‘s rotation.
Keef-ing It Real: Morris is, among other things, known for being fined by the league after demanding a trade last summer. He got his wish. In past seasons, Morris received votes for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards, so a chance exists that he could still contribute in a meaningful way.
What Does Twitter Say?
One of the best teammates I ever had DeJuan Blair and my white brother Chris humffffffff get traded ! Good luck guys u will be missed!
— Marcin Gortat(@MGortat) February 18, 2016
A locker room malcontent who eats into cap space next yr…At least it's not Ben Wallace for Ike Austin. #Wizards https://t.co/9itsZuoyA8
— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) February 18, 2016
Secondarily, why on earth are the Wizards trading for Markieff Morris?
— BooOoOooba Wall ce (@clintonyates) February 18, 2016
Wiz get Morris for Blair & Humphries. Great trade but I'm in crisis mode because Kris Humphries – God knows why – is my kid's favorite. Ugh.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) February 18, 2016
Will this trade improve the Wizards position in the Eastern Conference? Doubtful.
More importantly, does this screw up the cap for any VERY IMPORTANT OFFSEASON MOVES?
For those wondering: Yes, the Wiz can still offer KD a max deal after the Morris trade. https://t.co/UKPvcBwkZX pic.twitter.com/XC8LgjkbQ5
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) February 18, 2016
Graphic by Carey Jordan