Gregg Pops off on Morris signing saga
SAN ANTONIO – When Gregg Popovich said recently that Marcus Morris’ free agency was handled “unprofessionally on a lot of levels,” it wasn’t clear he was specifically accusing the Knicks.
Until Wednesday. “Who signed him? I thought it was the Knicks that signed him,” the legendary coach snipped when asked to clarify. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
The Spurs agreed to terms with Morris on a two-year, $20 million deal before he reneged and signed with the Knicks on a one-year, $15 million contract. San Antonio traded intriguing prospect Davis Bertans to clear the space to sign Morris, and the backtrack on a verbal agreement – a no-no in the unwritten ethics of free agency – clearly irked Popovich.
The Knicks, according to sources, felt their poaching was justified because of their belief the Spurs tampered with Kristaps Porzingis while he was still on the roster.
Coincidentally, the Spurs hosted the Knicks on Wednesday in the season opener — 20 years after the two faced off in the 1999 Finals. The crowd booed Morris each time he touched ball in the Knicks’ 120111 loss, but the forward still managed a game-high 26 points in 39 minutes.
Afterwards, Popovich and Morris embraced on the court.
“It was a great moment. Going back and like I said in the beginning, me and Pop had open conversations the entire time,” Morris said. “And the thing he said to me was, ‘Don’t allow the media to come in between of what we talked about.’
“That meant a lot. I didn’t know how he felt. I spoke to him after I made my decision. So it was good to clear the air.”
Before the game, though, Popovich was typically terse when first asked what he meant by his “unprofessional” comment.
“Do you have a dictionary? Look that up and you’ll figure it out,” he said.
So then what specifically was unprofessional? “What happened, happened,” he said. “So you decide what was unprofessional or not.”
Morris expected the boos from the San Antonio crowd but noted fans didn’t cross the line.
“San Antonio has always been a class-act organization, so I didn’t expect them to be too crazy,” Morris said. “But I can understand where they’re coming from.”
According to sources, Morris had turned down a more lucrative offer from the Clippers (three years, $43 million) earlier in free agency with the belief that bigger money was coming. It didn’t.
His agent, Rich Paul, was against reneging on the Spurs deal and no longer reps Morris.
Regarding his choice to reject the Spurs for the Knicks, Morris said being closer to his Philly roots was a factor. His salary this season is also $5 million higher (although that translates to less when factoring in New York taxes vs. Texas taxes).
Morris was on a teamfriendly four-year, $20 million deal before becoming a free agent in the summer.
“At the end of the day, you go through different paths in the league. I wouldn’t change anything about it,” he said.