Portland Trail Blazers

Should Portland trade for Markieff Morris?

Published Aug. 14, 2015 2:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris wants out of his current situation, which means several teams around the league should sniff at the opportunity to snatch him up without forfeiting too much in a trade.

The Suns don't have much leverage, despite Morris' stellar play and supremely valuable contract. He doesn't want anything to do with the franchise after they traded his brother, Marcus, to the Detroit Pistons.

But what does this mean for the Portland Trail Blazers? ESPN's Kevin Pelton thinks they could be in position to acquire Morris, if they surrender Noah Vonleh:

"This trade would have to tempt the Blazers. As promising as Vonleh is -- he just had an impressive performance at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas -- he's still coming off a rookie season where he played just 259 minutes. Adding Morris might push Portland into playoff contention, and at 25 (he'll be 26 next month), Morris is the same age as Blazers star Damian Lillard."

It's a tricky call for Portland. Should they just give up on a 19-year-old big who may develop into something special? The Trail Blazers are rebuilding with young prospects, which means they should insert as much positive influence in the locker room as they can.

Morris is not a positive influence, and probably isn't good enough to push Portland into the postseason picture. They should pass.

(h/t: ESPN)