Marcus Morris on Suns trading him away from Markieff: 'Like a slap in the face'

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The Morris brothers played together in college, were separated at the draft, were reunited in the desert, and then committed to play together for years to come.

The Phoenix Suns' pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency put an end to that, and Marcus Morris is none too pleased about it.

As they looked to clear cap space for a potential Aldridge signing, the Suns sent Marcus, Reggie Bullock, and Danny Granger to the Detroit Pistons, clearing $8.4 million off their books in the process. They're push for Aldridge came up short, rendering the Suns without three capable players for essentially nothing, and Marcus without his twin brother Markieff Morris as a teammate.

While Marcus landed in a situation he feels will be better for his individual growth, he's unhappy with the Suns for dealing him:

I wouldn't say stunning, but in Phoenix, I would say I didn't have a great opportunity. I kind of wanted to play with my brother so much that I kind of took away from myself. I didn't think I had an opportunity to get better. I don't think I had the chance to grow as a player over there. I think the opportunity is here for me.

This gives me a chance to branch out. In my opinion, God works in mysterious ways, and He has plans for certain people. Everybody knew how bad I wanted to play with my brother. Phoenix knew. For them to trade me without consent or telling me was like a slap in the face, because of the contract I took from those guys and the money I took from them. I'm happy to be here. I'm a Piston. I'm a Bad Boy. I'm ready to get started.

The Morris brothers signed four-year extensions with the Suns in September, with Marcus taking $20 million in total and Markieff taking $32 million. They had been clear they wanted teams to view them as a tandem and had designs on spending their entire careers together. That dream is done for the time being, and it's easy to understand the frustration.

But Morris is also right that he may have more of a role in Detroit, where head coach Stan Van Gundy values shooting from his power forwards. The 25-year-old has knocked down 36.3 percent of his career 3-point attempts and averaged career-highs of 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds last season.