The Wizards Made FORTY Different Phone Calls To Make Sure Markieff Morris Wouldn't Be A Locker Room Cancer

LBS-  The Wizards were aware of Morris’ behavioral issues in Phoenix prior to trading for him before the deadline in February. Before bringing him into their organization, they wanted to make sure he would fit and not be a problem. To that end, they made around 40 phone calls to vet the forward.

“They vetted him extremely closely before making the deal,” ESPN announcer Mark Jones said while broadcasting the Wizards-Pistons game on Monday night. “I’m told by a couple Wizards administrators that there were some 40 phone calls to people he would come into regular contact with. Former teammates, former coaches, people all over the basketball landscape, and they were reassured that this was a solid guy, that this is going to work out. … They thought that this would be a great fit.”

Jones then said it seemed Morris acted out in Phoenix because he felt betrayed by the Suns.

“All indications were that there was a feeling and a sense of betrayal because of all the promises that he was made in Phoenix. And he’s past the disappointment and almost at home here,” Jones said of Morris.




There's gotta be a number. I am not sure what it is, but it damn sure isn't 40. Maybe it's 25, 30 tops? All I know is that there was a distinct point when those phone calls went from being due diligence to a goddamn witch hunt. Did the Wizards even want to trade for Markieff Morris, or did they just want to prove that trading for Markieff Morris was a bad idea and their plan completely backfired? That's kind of what it seems like. I imagine they hung up the phone on that 40th call and said "shit, send the papers through, turns out he's a decent guy". All I am saying is that if Markieff Morris ends up being a problem in the locker room then the Wizards front office is going to mighty pissed at themselves for ignoring their instincts, because they clearly felt some type of way about him before they brought him on board. Who knows if that is going to happen or not? By all accounts Markieff Morris was a guy that caught a raw deal in Phoenix, and handled it exceedingly poorly. With that said the Wizards didn't treat the acquisition of Markieff Morris like he was a guy that caught a raw deal, they treated his acquisition like his clique was made up of Ray Lewis, Greg Hardy, and Johnny Manziel. 

I haven't made forty phone calls in the last year and half, and the Washington Wizards made 40 phone calls on behalf on a bench player with an attitude problem. I don't care if you're a professional sports franchise or not, everyone knows the more you want something to be true the less you do to make sure it is. All I need is one glowing recommendation of the super hot, most likely crazy girl from the bar before I feel comfortable dating her. Start calling around town and people are bound to give her a less than staller review. That's why it's so hard to find a 5 Star place of business on 'Yelp!', and that's why it's a goddamn miracle that the opinion of Markieff Morris' was consistent through enough phone calls to fill a telemarketer's Tuesday itinerary.