NBA Rumors: Washington Wizards Markieff Morris trade Explained; Phoenix Suns Duped twins

Mar 21, 2016 01:16 PM EDT

The run for the NBA playoffs is heating up and two familiar faces emerge as potential competitors. Markieff Morris and his twin brother, Marcus, are in opposing teams that are aiming for a playoff spot. Ever since their exit from the Phoenix Suns, the two have been doing remarkably well this season. Today, basketball fans eagerly await how the Morris twins will attempt to climb the Eastern Conference which is led by LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. Although neither of them is no longer with the Phoenix Suns, there remains a lingering bitterness in their relationship with the NBA team.

The Morris twins started out as valuable members of the Phoenix Suns roster. However, things turned sour when the NBA team decided to trade Marcus to the Detroit Pistons. Immediately following the move, Markieff had been quite vocal in his desire to leave the organization, according to an earlier Gospel Herald report. The remaining Marcus twin then even openly shared his dismay for the Phoenix Suns - a move that had him penalized by the NBA. Now settled and thriving in the Washington Wizards roster, Markieff shares the depth of the betrayal the Phoenix Suns inflicted on him and Marcus.

"It was more about the contract and how they went about it," shared Markieff of the issue with the Phoenix Suns and his twin brother. He added, "I would've never signed a four-for-32 contract if I would've known they were going to trade my brother."

Prior to the NBA trade of Marcus to the Detroit Pistons, the Morris twins agreed to a "reduced" contract with the Phoenix Suns. The discounted contract with the said NBA team had Marcus taking home $20 million while Markieff got $32 million. Despite the amount, the Morris brothers insisted that they found it acceptable then simply because they wanted to stay in one basketball team. However, things did not go as promised by the Phoenix Suns.

"Personally, I think he [Markieff] did a lot for Phoenix. He took a lot of sacrifices for Phoenix. For them to do such a thing, I feel like they backstabbed him," commented Marcus. He added, "I think if they had just reached out to him, reached out to both of us and said, 'Listen, this is our direction. We don't think this is going to work.' We would understand, that's what has to happen but by the fact that they didn't do that, it made it worse. ... He just didn't want to be there. He didn't feel the vibe."

However, earlier reports revealed that the twins' mother, Angel Morris, did not agree with the contract even before his sons signed it. Despite her protests, the brothers still went on with the deal. At the time, Markieff assured his mom that the Phoenix Suns will do right by them. That is, he trusted the basketball team to keep their end of the bargain.

"I was a little leery and I said, 'I don't think you should do that,' " shared Angel of the discounted contract. "Because you never know what's going to come up. But Keef was like, 'No, Ma, I've been with Phoenix this long and I trust them and they're my family. And we're going to go along with this because they said they're going to keep us together. If we take that small contract, they're going to keep us together.' "

Regardless of the drama, the Morris twins are now on their way to excelling in their own respective teams. It remains to be seen who between Markieff and Marcus will perform better this NBA season. However, it appears that the exit of Markieff from the Phoenix Suns finally put an end to the locker room issues and effectively started a new era for the Morris twins.