FanPost

Buyout might be best for Suns, Markieff

The Suns and Markieff Morris appear to be at a crossroads. Communication between the two sides has been scant since Ryan McDonough traded his brother, Marcus, to Detroit for a 2020 2nd round pick, and the only public comment he has made since the trade was a tweet that seemed to show incredulity at the news. Meanwhile, Marcus has been anything but quiet, first saying "forget Phoenix" in his introductory press conference in Detroit only to later remember Phoenix in a bitter Twitter rant a few days ago, including suggestions that Markieff might not be long for the Suns.

Obviously the best path for both Markieff and the Suns would be for the two sides to get together, talk things out, and head into the 2015-16 season with all the hurt feelings put behind them.

But then, the best path isn't one the Morris twins tread often.

Markieff and Marcus are as close as two people can be without being conjoined, so if Marcus is voicing displeasure over Phoenix, it is a safe bet Markieff is just as upset and isn't likely to let things just blow over. With that being the case, Phoenix and Markieff will have to explore the other path — parting ways.

This is a tricky proposition, though. The Suns do not wish to surrender Markieff for table scraps. Ryan McDonough has said as much in the past. Yet current circumstances being what they are — volatility, immaturity, and a pending assault case all hanging over Markieff — the chances of getting equal value in return via trade appear slim. Other teams know the situation in Phoenix, and those interested in Markieff are probably inclined to let the situation deteriorate further to see if they can acquire him for pennies on the dollar rather than surrender assets for a player who might still be upset playing apart from his brother.

Trade possibilities are available for Phoenix — at least in theory. Trading him to Houston for Donatas Montiejunas would return Phoenix a 7-0 power forward with good range and a plethora of post moves. Trading him to Memphis could net a one-year rental of Jeff Green. It is more conceivable that McDonough would look to send him to the Eastern Conference, which makes Chicago's Taj Gibson an obvious candidate, but Gibson doesn't provide any spacing inside alongside Tyson Chandler, choking off the lane for penetrating guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight.

All of this illustrates the difficulties in trading Markieff, even in theory. And again, all of those suggestions assume those teams have interest in the disgruntled forward. They very easily could pass given the circumstances. No team wants to commit long-term money to an unhappy player, even if the contract numbers are favorable.

So if Phoenix and Markieff can't work things out and the Suns can't find a willing trade partner, what is left? Well, there's always a buyout.

A buyout actually makes sense for both sides. For Markieff, it allows him to leave a situation he's unhappy in and choose his next destination. It also comes with the added bonus of being freed from that value deal he signed last year, giving him the chance to negotiate a better contract with his new club. For Phoenix, buying out Markieff rids the locker room of a poisonous player and offers increased financial flexibility on the threshold of a spike in the salary cap next year.

If Phoenix were to negotiate a buyout with Markieff that amounted to ¼ of his four-year contract ($8 million of his $32 million), the Suns would take salary-cap hits in the next four seasons of $2 million, $1.85 million, $2 million, and $2.15 million. That would leave the Suns with plenty of money to use in pursuing a top-notch replacement in the summer of 2016.

But why would Markieff leave so much money on the table? Simple. He's not.

Sure, Markieff would be forgoing $24 million owed to him by Phoenix over the next four seasons, but he can make the difference up —and then some — by betting on himself. If Markieff accepted the buyout terms above and were to sign a minimum deal with a team of his choosing for 2015-16, he would make $3,015,421 as opposed to the $8 million he was due from Phoenix. However, it would also make him a free agent in the summer when the salary cap is expected to balloon to $90 million. Were he to secure a deal for $15 million a year over four years next summer, he would make up the buyout loss by the end of the 2016-17 season. Even if he signed for a more modest $12 million per year, he would still be ahead by the end of 2016-17. And by the end of the 2018-19 season, he would have made anywhere from $45,015,421 to $54,015,421 as opposed to the $32 million he would have made from his full contract with Phoenix.

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Again, this is not the ideal scenario. Keeping the offensive talents Markieff provides would be vastly preferable to trading him for lesser talent or paying him to leave. Either of those scenarios would result in yet another setback for a team desperate to taste the playoffs. But keeping Goran Dragic was also preferable to sending him away, and we all know how that ended.

If worse comes to worst and Phoenix is left with no alternative than to part ways with Markieff, a buyout might be the best option for all parties. Phoenix would be given financial freedom to pursue its next starting power forward in 2016 (cough Al Horford cough), and Markieff would be free of Phoenix, earning more money than in Phoenix, and could even join Marcus in Detroit if he so chose.

Considering the circumstances, that might be as good as it gets.