American basketball player Markieff Morris has renewed his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, as reported by ESPN.
Morris played eight games for the Texas team last season, averaging 4.5 points in 8.8 minutes on the court. He came to Dallas as part of a trade that also involved Kyrie Irving.
A former NBA champion with the Lakers in 2020, Morris became an unrestricted free agent this summer but Dallas decided to bring him back into their fold.
Morris’s playing time will depend on the roles of the new acquisitions Grant Williams and Richaun Holmes. Additionally, the development of first-round rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper will be a significant factor.
In his 12-year NBA career, the power forward has averaged 10.6 points and five rebounds per game. Two years ago, he made headlines when he was forcefully pushed by Nikola Jokic from behind after Morris committed a hard foul on him.
Both players were suspended from the game, and Dallas’ returning acquisition had to sit out a significant portion of the rest of the season. Morris recently spoke about that situation, noting that the break was not due to an injury from the collision but because Miami, his team at the time, wanted to protect him.
Interestingly, Miami was the team that Denver defeated in the previous season’s finals, with Jokic being named the series’ Most Valuable Player.