It’s no secret that the Lakers and Clippers were engaged in an arms race for Knicks forward Marcus Morris. During yesterday’s deadline, both teams were making their best attempts at landing the talented veteran big man.
In the end, it was the Clippers who won, securing Morris for Maurice Harkless, Issuf Sanon, and a first-round and second-round pick. Interestingly enough, their asking price seemed to be exponentially higher in talks with the Lakers.
In a report by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, she stated that the Knicks wanted both Kuzma and Danny Green in exchange for Morris.
Following up on Lakers-NYK talks. It wasn’t just Kyle Kuzma LA didn’t want to include in a deal for Marcus Morris. The Knicks also wanted Danny Green (to make the $ work) and future second round picks, per sources. Lakers decided that was too steep and walked away late.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 6, 2020
For whatever reason, the Knicks decided to settle on a deal involving Moe Harkless from the Clippers when they seemingly asked for the world from the Lakers. Is it ignorance? Dysfunction? Favoritism? Whatever the case, the Knicks clearly had different price tags for their trade partners.
Still, it’s unlikely the Lakers had a strong enough counter offer to compete with the Clippers anyway. They don’t have draft picks, and Kuzma alone wasn’t enough to get the job done. Instead, the Lakers will likely look at the buyout market for guys like JR Smith and Darren Collison.
We’ll see how the battle for Los Angeles ends in the next few months to come.
