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Markieff Morris is a guy who has given Washington some useful minutes in the past, but he has been a problem for them this year. It’s almost at the point where just shipping him off for no return would be better than keeping him around.
But this is much better, if Portland could talk themselves into it. Ed Davis is an excellent upgrade for Washington. He’s an outstanding defender and, most importantly, he hustles and tries really hard. That’s what the Wizards need, even if the offensive production is limited. They need a big who will defend and rebound with consistency and bring some fire to this team.
It’s a little more complicated for the Blazers. They’ve weirdly been an elite defense and a mediocre offense all year, so having a guy in Morris who can space the floor would be super helpful, even with how bad he’s been in other areas. Damian Lillard is also desperate for a decent pick and roll partner, and Morris can be that.
The financial implications of the trade may scare Portland off though. Davis comes off of the books after this year, but they would owe Morris 8 million dollars again next season. It complicates their already very ugly cap sheet. But if the Blazers are planning on giving Jusuf Nurkic the max — which they shouldn’t do — they may as well rip up the cap sheet all together, because they’re going to be major luxury tax payers for a long time.