The Oklahoma City Thunder have officially signed free agent forward Markieff Morris to a contract, the team announced Wednesday in a press release.
News of the signing first surfaced last week when Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the Thunder had reached an agreement with the eight-year veteran.
Prior to signing with the Thunder, Morris reportedly considered the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors.
Morris recently became a free agent after the New Orleans Pelicans waived him after acquiring the 6-foot-10 forward in exchange for Wesley Johnson and a second-round draft pick from the Washington Wizards.
Morris averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 34 games for the Wizards on 43.6 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.
While news of the signing first surfaced last week, the team likely waited until Wednesday to make an official announcement to save additional costs on their pending luxury tax bill. As the Thunder reconvene Thursday following the All-Star break, Morris is expected to be in practice to get acclimated to his new team.
Prior to the break, Paul George was happy about the addition of Morris.
We finished as one of the best records in the past 10 games going into this break. We’re a good group. We got a big piece in Markieff that we’re excited for and we’re going to be ready for the second half after this break.
Morris will give the Thunder some help off of the bench as a player that brings toughness and can rebound well. He will also give the team a consistent scoring threat, perhaps even taking some minutes from Patrick Patterson.
After the signing of Morris, the Thunder roster now stands at 15, with Richard Solomon and Scotty Hopson signed to 10-day contracts. The team will likely bring both players back on second 10-day contracts.
