Why the Rockets should not trade for Markieff Morris

According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Rockets are interested in acquiring Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris, who was a healthy scratch in last Sunday's contest versus the Grizzlies. That would be a bad idea.

The disgruntled Morris reportedly made several trade demands this offseason after the Suns traded away his twin brother, Marcus.

The Rockets, on the other hand, are in the market to spice up their team after a disappointing 10-11 start. The New Orleans Pelicans are also reportedly interested in trading for Markieff Morris.

Daryl Morey is always attracted to pure talent, but this strategy is starting to catch up with him considering the Ty Lawson debacle. Factoring in team chemistry and intangibles while forgetting analytics for a minute, it is obvious that trading for Markieff Morris is a horrific idea.

The Rockets Would Probably Lose Terrence Jones

This is said on nearly every broadcast, but Jones is statistically one of the best three-point shooters on the team. Shooting 38% from behind the arc, he trails only Patrick Beverley (43%) on the team. His reluctance to shoot notwithstanding, he clearly has the ability to bomb from deep.

Jones is two years younger than Morris and is, frankly, a better player. Jones is a better rebounder and defender, while Morris is a tad more polished offensively. With that said, they both have similar offensive games and swapping them could only hurt the Rockets.

Markieff Morris is a Diva

Ever since the Suns traded away his twin brother Marcus to the Detroit Pistons, Markieff has been nothing but a diva. Complaining about minutes, not playing hard, and decrying the organization have all been part of Markieff's persona in Phoenix.

To add insult to injury, Morris has three technical fouls this season and was second in the league last year with 15. Recently, Morris was benched for the duration of the Grizzlies game, a coach's decision. He hadn't been playing as poorly as Ty Lawson, also a recent victim of a DNP-CD, so attitude may have had something to do with it.

The Rockets already have enough on-court theatrics to deal with in James Harden's effort, Dwight Howard pouting for the ball, and Lawson having has talent stolen by MonStars.

He may have assaulted a man

Along with his brother, Markieff Morris is accused of helping three other men beat up a guy last January. The Morris twins pleaded not guilty to the counts of aggravated assault.

Why would the Rockets want to bring in another player with possible legal issues considering Lawson's unresolved arrests for drunk driving?

The Rockets do not have a defined role for Morris

Of course, if Markieff Morris achieves his full potential, he could find a niche on any team. Morris' ceiling is a versatile defender and offensive floor-spacer, similar to Draymond Green. However, the Rockets have found success lately with the front court of Clint Capela and Dwight Howard.

Capela and Howard are not Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, but they have been an effective pairing as the Rockets have gone 4-1 with them in the starting lineup. By playing two seven-footers side by side, the Rockets could be zigging while everyone else is zagging.

Here's what Zach Lowe had to say about the Rockets' "Twin Towers."

Howard and Capela are a four-armed rim barricade, and they're playing volleyball on the offensive glass to make up for what should be a fatal lack of spacing; Houston has rebounded a ridiculous 38.5 percent of its own misses in the 56 minutes these behemoths have shared the floor, per NBA.com tracking.

Adding Markieff Morris would disrupt a solid starting five, and bench unit with Lawson, finally becoming used to playing with each other.

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