Clippers adding Marcus Morris in 3-team trade

The Clippers have acquired Marcus Morris from the New York Knicks and Isaiah Thomas from the Washington Wizards in a 3-team trade, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Clippers, Knicks and Wizards have agreed to a three-team trade that will land Marcus Morris and Isaiah Thomas with the Clippers, league sources tell ESPN. Jerome Robinson will join the Wizards, Moe Harkless and a 2020 first-round pick to the Knicks.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020

Knicks are finalizing a deal to send Marcus Morris to the Clippers for Moe Harkless and other assets, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Sides still working on exact additional players/picks.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2020

The Clippers will send Moe Harkless and a 2020 first-round pick to the Knicks for Morris, along with swap rights to their 2021 first-rounder and a 2021 second-round pick via Detroit. And they will send guard Jerome Robinson to the Wizards in exchange for Thomas. According to David Aldridge of The Athletic, the Clippers don’t plan to keep Thomas.

The 30-year-old Morris is averaging a career-best 19.6 points for the Knicks, who signed him to a one-year contract last offseason. New York recently cut ties with team president Steve Mills and is set to hire CAA player agent Leon Rose in his place.

Thomas, a two-time All-Star and All-NBA second team member in 2016-17, will become a free agent if he’s waived by the Clippers. The 30-year-old point guard is averaging 12.2 points and 3.7 assists while shooting 41.3% from 3-point.

Trade Analysis

Via NBA.com’s John Schuhmann

Main Takeaway: In the Western Conference arms race, the Clippers have outbid the Lakers for the better of the two Morris brothers. Every team always needs more shooting, and the Clips have added the league’s fifth-ranked 3-point shooter to play alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Impact on Clippers: Morris has shot 43.9% from 3-point range, including 46.8% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers (the fourth best mark among 158 players who have attempted at least 100). He’s an upgrade over Harkless in regard to his shooting, his willingness to shoot, and his ability to create shots. He’s 4-for-7 on shots to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or OT and three of those four buckets have come off the dribble in iso situations. Harkless (second on the Clippers in deflections per 36 minutes) is the better defender, but Morris isn’t a major liability on that end and is a little bigger and stronger than Harkless. In regard to LA lineups, he’s no more or less versatile.

Impact on Knicks: The Knicks didn’t get a winning season (or anything close to it) from all the vets they signed to short-term deals last summer. But they have managed to flip one of them for a future pick.

Impact on Wizards: The Wizards have flipped a 5-9 30 year old for a 6-4 22 year old. Robinson could help what has been the league’s worst defense (by a wide margin). It’s up to their player development program to turn Robinson (who has an effective field goal percentage of 44%) into something useful on offense.