Marcus Morris has had a whirlwind summer.
The 29-year-old forward, who was a free agent, originally agreed to a contract with the Spurs this offseason. But, he backed out of that deal and inked a one-year, $15 million contract with the Knicks.
Morris discussed that decision during a recent interview with The Athletic.
“I have a good relationship with those guys and I have so much respect for (Spurs coach) Pop (Gregg Popovich), (general manager) RC (Buford) and (assistant GM) Brian Wright,” Morris told The Athletic. “The first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew. There was no shade. There’s no disrespect. I had great conversations afterward, and as long as I feel that I’m clear with them and gave them my truth, I feel good about moving forward.
“I was under the impression that I didn’t have anything left. I thought at the time that the Spurs deal was all that I had. The process wasn’t what I expected and it didn’t go the right way.”
The Knicks had more cap space than originally anticipated after they re-worked the contract of wing Reggie Bullock, who underwent back surgery earlier this month.
“Pop and I had a long conversation about everything, not just basketball,” Morris said. “I have a lot of love for that organization and the opportunity they were giving me to put on a Spurs jersey. That was part of my process. He was the only coach I spoke to besides (Knicks) coach Fiz (David Fizdale).
“Playing close to home, being from Philly, I get to see my family a lot.”
Morris averaged 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 37.5% from 3-point range for the Celtics last season.
In addition to Bullock and Morris, New York also added Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton, Julius Randle, Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis.