Report: Raptors not interested in Markieff Morris

The Toronto Raptors are in dire need of an upgrade at power forward, but they're apparently not rolling the dice on a noted malcontent.

The Raptors aren't interested in Suns forward Markieff Morris, The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star echoed similar sentiments in a column posted Tuesday, citing sources Smith trusts.

A previous report from ESPN's Marc Stein suggested the Raptors did have some cursory interest in Morris, although that was two weeks ago.

Since then, Morris fought teammate Archie Goodwin during a game (he also flipped the bird at a fan that evening), and the Suns are asking for a young prospect and a draft pick in exchange for the forward.

Morris has repeatedly demanded to leave Phoenix despite three years remaining on his four-year, $32-million contract. The Suns intend to honor that request, and have no plans to retain him for the 2016-17 season.

In terms of a potential basketball fit, Morris would be an ideal candidate to take over starting power forward duties from 35-year-old Luis Scola. Morris' shooting efficiency has dropped precipitously, but he averaged 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season, and has the versatility and mobility to slot in as a two-way threat.

In addition to last week's kerfuffle, however, Morris was charged with aggravated assault last January in a case that's still ongoing, and was among the league leaders in technical fouls for each of the past two seasons. Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has demonstrated he values solid characters in his locker room, and a move for Morris would appear to diverge from that principle.