Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was unhappy with Marcus Morris' unprofessional behavior in "blindsiding" the Spurs during free agency.
Morris reportedly had a deal in place to join the Spurs over the summer, but at the last minute signed with the Knicks on a one-year deal. San Antonio, meanwhile, had traded Davis Bertans to the Wizards to make room for Morris under the cap.
Popovich addressed Morris' decision Monday during San Antonio's media availability, blasting Morris for how he handled the situation and how much of a loss it was to trade away Davis.
“It was more than difficult to lose Davis,” Popovich told reporters. “Let’s just say that was an unfortunate situation that was handled unprofessionally on a couple of different levels. We made that move to make the signing that we did and got blindsided.
“Davis was a special player as we all know, and he was young and getting better and better. So, yeah, we hated losing him.”
And Popovich on losing Davis Bertans and the Marcus Morris situation ... said it was handled “unprofessionally on a couple different level” #Spurs #Knicks @TheAthleticNBA pic.twitter.com/rNomm3H5KJ
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) September 30, 2019
Morris initially said in July that he still has a "good relationship" with the Spurs, adding that "the first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew.”
Morris revisited the topic again Monday, admitting his "free agency didn’t go as planned."
“A lot of the specifics came off a lot of unknown — unknown situations," Morris said. "I kind of committed very early.”
Marcus Morris says his free agency didn't go like he planned and that he committed early. He cited "unknown" issues. He committed to the Spurs but then signed with the Knicks. Says he wanted to be closer to Philly, his hometown. pic.twitter.com/H72YRC0ERW
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) September 30, 2019
Morris, selected by the Rockets in the first round of the 2011 draft, averaged 13.9 points on 44.7 percent shooting with 6.1 rebounds last season in his second season with Boston.