Suns forward Markieff Morris says Boston almost traded for his twin

According to Suns forward Markieff Morris, Boston could have landed his twin Marcus instead of the two brothers reuniting in Phoenix at the trade deadline.

Morris was talking to KTAR in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ:

When did you first learn that your team was pursuing your brother?:

“I was on the bus riding to … the Golden State game and Jared Dudley was like, ‘They’re talking about trading your brother.’ So I was just calling him to see how he felt about it. And he said it was between (Phoenix) and Boston.”

ESPN’s Chris Forsberg breaks down why this deal didn’t happen for the Celtics and did for the Suns.

On the surface, the decision between the two potential deals seems like a no-brainer for Houston. Phoenix is dead last in the Western Conference and their second-round pick this season will likely be in the early 30s. Boston doesn't own a second-round pick in this year's draft -- it traded it to Portland as part of a three-way deal with Houston to acquire Courtney Lee this summer -- which means the Rockets would have had to wait to collect a future second-rounder (Boston has two second-round picks in 2014, its own and another from Brooklyn).

Boston could have made a stronger push by offering a future first-round pick, but that's risky. Plus, it's unclear if hard-capped, apron-pushing Boston could have taken on Morris' $1.9 million salary without sending something back to Houston (whose payroll is already clogged with bought-out Boston castoffs like E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson).

This deal seems more like a Danny Ainge last ditch effort instead of an actual missed deal. Ainge probably tried real hard to get the 6’9” second-year player to help bolster the front court, but there was nothing Boston had that Houston really wanted besides a first round pick, and we all know how those have become gold under the new CBA.

As nice as it would have been to get the slightly less talented Morris, it’s a much better story that the twins are playing together again like in their Kansas days.

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