The longtime Denver Nugget has been a mainstay in the rotation, but what does his future hold as the franchise chases its first-ever NBA championship?
Monte Morris‘ tenure with the Denver Nuggets has been met with mixed emotions. On the one hand, he’s blossomed beautifully from a late-round draft pick in 2017 to a near 30-minute per-game starter and one of the pillars in Denver’s rotation. Much to the delight of Nuggets fans.
On the other hand, he’s owed nearly $19 million ($18.925) in guaranteed money over the next two seasons and is far from a reliable defender. With the Flint, Michigan product posting a defensive efficiency rating of 110.4 this past season, which falls outside of the top 150 among NBA guards.
He’s also been recently overshadowed by Denver’s exciting young talent, Bones Hyland. Who’s an incredibly shifty scorer and on a much friendlier rookie deal with an average salary of $2.69 million per year through 2025, per Spotrac.
So, with the emergence of Bones Hyland, and the inevitable return of Jamal Murray in 2023, where does this leave Monte Morris?
Well, based on the circumstances, the Denver Nuggets are left with two options.
The first (and most likely) scenario would be for the Denver Nuggets to simply keep Monte Morris as a valuable member of the roster.
With the losses of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Monte Morris provided Denver with a sense of stability. Running the offense as the team’s leading point guard and best perimeter option for the majority of the season. Notching a career-high 124 three-pointers on nearly 40 percent shooting from deep (39.6).
In fact, Morris ended his fifth year in the NBA averaging career-highs across the board. Including points (12.6), rebounds (3.0), assists (4.4), free-throw percentage (87 percent), and minutes per game (29.9). All the while starting in 74 out of 75 regular-season games. Which is an incredible feat in and of itself given that he had only started in 31 games total prior to the start of the 2021-2022 season.
Simply put, when the Denver Nuggets needed somebody to step up, Monte Morris did just that and on a consistant basis.
Despite showing obvious struggles on the defensive side of the floor when matched up with opposing ball-handlers. Specifically in the playoffs against the likes of Golden State‘s Steph Curry and Jordan Poole. Monte Morris still did a fantastic job stepping in for Jamal Murray as the team’s second-best player for the majority of the season. So, it would make sense for the Nuggets to retain his abilities going into 2023.
The advantage to the Denver Nuggets bringing Monte Morris back next season is that they can have him compete with their young rookie, Bones Hyland, for the starting job at point guard. Sliding Jamal Murray over to the two spot, and sending Will Barton to the bench. Worst case, they’d be left with one of the more valuable backup point guards the NBA has to offer.
The downside is that with both Hyland and Morris being far below-average defenders, there’s a legitimate argument that neither is suited to be the team’s starting point guard. Particularly if they want to view themselves as a legitimate title contender.
While the Nuggets could just eat the $19 million Morris is owed over the next two years with the hopes that one of the two can step up defensively. That’s still a lot of money to allocate towards a likely backup and money that could be better spent elsewhere. Especially since he’ll be due for a pay raise by 2024.
Which is why another option (albeit far bolder) would be to package Morris in a trade to acquire a better rotational fit or a more team-friendly contract.
For example, the New York Knicks are desperately trying to find their long-term solution at point guard. So, the Nuggets could be able to make a play that would involve sending Morris to New York in exchange for either Immanuel Quickley or Quintin Grimes and a future second-round pick.
Both of whom are solid young defenders, and still on their rookie deals at least until 2024. Though, Denver may need to add Kemba Walker to the trade to sweeten the pot a little bit, which may or may not be worth it.
Another player the Nuggets could look to target is San Antonio‘s Jakob Poeltl. Who is an extremely smart and reliable interior defender, which is certainly something Denver could use more of. Or potentially even Philadelphia‘s Matisse Thybulle, who’s owed just $4.38 million next year and is a renowned perimeter defender.
Truth be told, there are plenty of point guard-needy teams that could emerge as potential trade suitors for the right price. So, this is definitely another direction the Denver Nuggets could go if they’re feeling audacious.