Markieff Morris feels at home with the Mavs

When Markiff Morris arrived in Dallas after the Mavericks acquired him on Feb. 6 in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, he immediately felt at home.

After all, Morris already had so many Mavs connections that he built over his 12-year NBA career. For starters, coach Jason Kidd was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers when Morris and the Lakers won the 2020 NBA title. Mavs assistant coach Jared Dudley was also a Lakers teammate with Morris in that championship.

In addition, Dudley and Morris were also teammates with the Phoenix Suns (2011-13) and the Washington Wizards (2016). In addition, Mavs assistant coach Sean Sweeney was an assistant coach with Detroit when Morris played in the 2019-20 season with the Pistons.

Elsewhere, Mavs assistant coach Christy Toliver was an assistant coach at Washington when Morris played for the Wizards in the 2018–19 season. And Mavs assistant coach Greg St. Jean was the Lakers’ player development coach and frontline scout during the 2020-21 season while Morris was there.

So when Morris moved to the Mavs in exchange for a blockbuster that also brought highly trained defenseman Kyrie Irving to Dallas, the transition went smoothly.

“I’ve dated these guys before,” Morris said. “We have partnerships. It’s very simple because there is no communication in these commands.

“No shots fired in Brooklyn, but it was one of those teams where there wasn’t too much communication about what was going on day to day. And I come here and they talk directly to me about the game, directly to me about training, directly to me about how to get your body in order and get on the path to contribute to the team.”

A 6-9, 245-pound power forward, Morris has yet to play a game for the Mavs. But he said he expects to be ready by the time the Mavs host the match. Lakers on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ABC.

“I know a lot of people are ready for me to play and think I should play, which is what will happen,” Morris said. “I have to be ready because I personally know that going to the playoffs will be a different intensity.

“So when I first get on the court, I want to be ready to play at a high level. And that’s what I’m doing now – getting my body in order so that I can play at the high level that they will see very soon.

Morris is actually a twin. His brother Marcus plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. And Markiev said Mavs.com what he said, few people know.

“We are actually fraternal (twins),” Markieff said. “But people think we’re identical, so we go along with it.”

Markieff admits that being a twin has its perks.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” he said. “(Marcus) is my best friend, he is always someone I can talk to and he does the same things. Not only are we twins, we are both in the same profession so I can enjoy watching him play and I don’t play that much and he can enjoy watching me play.

“He always listens to me to make things right and always pushes me when he feels you are missing something. It’s much easier in life to have someone like you to lend a hand or lean on. It’s like having a second pair of eyes or a second pair of ears.”

Growing up in Philadelphia and attending college in Kansas, Morris said he and his twin did the usual shenanigans that twins do.

“We changed classes all the time,” he said. “(Markus) was better at reading and I was better at math, so we did that all the time.

You couldn’t tell us apart at all. You had to dig deep for this.

According to Morris, the twins are a brotherhood that no one else can relate to. And the NBA has its twins.

Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks) and his twin brother Robin Lopez (Cleveland Cavaliers) have been NBA mainstays since 2008. Cody Martin (Charlotte Hornets) and his twin brother Caleb Martin (Miami Heat) are in their fourth season. in the NBA.

And thermal guard Victor Oladipo has a twin sister. In fact, Markieff spent the 2021-22 season in Miami with Caleb Martin and Oladipo and was also a teammate with Robin Lopez in Phoenix for the 2011-12 season.

“Caleb and I were very close,” Morris said. “Obviously his brother is in the league so it was easy for us to talk about (being a twin).”

After the Morris brothers played on the same high school and college team together, they had to part ways when the Suns Markiev No. 13^th the 2011 NBA draft overall pick and the Houston Rockets made Marcus Morris the 14th overall pick.^th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

“We came (to the NBA) in lockout year, so we had an extra four months, five months together, so we sort of prepared for (separation),” Markieff said. “In the beginning (in the NBA) he didn’t play, so it’s like the pressure of separation, because it was hard for him. Not only are we separated, we can both do what we love, and he didn’t have the opportunity.

“So it kind of strains the separation a bit. But as you gradually get older and we both become famous, it’s just second nature now. But if it was up to us, we would be on the same team.”

While the Morris brothers had people seeing double, how close are they really?

“We live in the same neighborhood in Florida,” said Markieff, 33, who is seven minutes older than Marcus. “We live right around the corner from each other.

“His children and my children are always together. We preach family, so we want to stay as close as possible.”

Markieff and Marcus were able to reunite when they were Phoenix Suns teammates during the 2013-15 seasons before the basketball business forced them to play on different teams again. So far, Markieff has said that the biggest misconception about him and Markus is that they are dirty players.

“I know they said a lot of crazy things about me, and then when the guys walked around me, they said:“ You are not at all like what they said about you. were,” Markiev said. “People confuse me and my brother with how we play on the court with how we play off the court.

“On the court, yes, we are tough guys. We are from Philadelphia. We know how to play hard. People might think it’s dirty. Call it what you want. But if it was in the 90s, you wouldn’t call it that. Now that it’s 2023, it’s called dirty. But I’ve seen people punched in the face, I’ve seen them take part in battles between Boston and the Lakers, Boston and Detroit. When it happened, it was cool. Now it’s a show game and no matter what happens, they’re all dirty players.”

While Markieff and Marcus are like two peas in a pod, they do have some serious differences that will seemingly never change. Markieff is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys and Markus is a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.

And NFL fans know that the Cowboys and Eagles mix like oil and water.

“We like the same things and that’s probably the only thing we don’t see eye to eye on,” Markieff said. “But it’s good for sibling rivalry. I’m wearing my (Cowboys) jersey and he’s wearing his (Eagles) jersey and I’m talking nonsense to him.

“I talked to him all sorts of nonsense when the (Eagles) lost the Super Bowl (earlier this month to the Kansas City Chiefs) even though I wanted them to win because I’m still from Philadelphia. I don’t hate Eagles. They hate cowboys. I’m like, “I want you all to win. I just don’t want you all to beat us. ”

Although he grew up in Philadelphia, Markiff’s love for the Cowboys runs deep.

“I grew up in the 90s,” he said. “The 90s were a nation of cowboys. You saw the star everywhere. I remember being young and really seeing Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irwin and Darren Wooden and all those guys. And still. I went through 20 bad years of being talked to so much.

“Of course I’m from Philadelphia and they hate the Cowboys, but there are Cowboy fans everywhere. It’s 50/50 in Philadelphia. It’s not all Eagles fans. It’s also 50 percent Cowboys. They are still America’s team.”

When he learned that some members of the Cowboys were due to attend Sunday’s Mavs-Lakers game, Markieff spoke like a child opening presents on Christmas morning.

“I’m going to meet them too,” he said. “I’m not one of those ‘I’m too cool’ fans.” I’m one of those guys where I see Mick Parsons, I see Trevon Diggs, I see Duck (Prescott), I see (Layton), Vander Ash, DeMarcus Lawrence.

— I’ll go down the line with my guys. I’m just a big Cowboys fan. I have always been. I don’t see myself liking another team.”

As for his own team, the Mavs, Markieff has high hopes for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

“I feel like we’re a sleeping team,” he said. “Apart from Kai and Luka (Doncic), no one knows what to expect from everyone else.”

Whatever anyone expects from the Mavs this season, Markieff Morris feels right at home.

Twitter: @DwainPrice