Today we get a bigger look at how Rockets rookie Marcus Morris has done with his assignment to Rio Grande Valley. It seems like he was upset, but is okay with it now. Interestingly, the telling quotes in that article are from Morris' agent and not him.
↵The moral of the story is that Morris will get to play more minutes, get into a rhythm before rejoining the team later this season. Morris can also use the time to play small forward, which is something we talked about yesterday.
↵Still, why should Morris get upset being sent to the minors? After all, baseball players have to toil in obscurity for years before getting known. Why should basketball be different?
↵The short answer is because it its. Basketball stars, especially guys like Morris, were recruited as big deals to college, were treated as BMOC when they were in college and, for as long as many of them have played basketball, were the focus of their team. Moving to an NBA team and not being part of a rotation? That's frustrating, I'm sure.
↵But, it's just part of the system AAU and colleges have set up. It reinforces a sense that the player is bigger than the team. I'm glad the Rockets are able to use their D-League team effectively, because it's been a benefit to them. They just have to do some convincing of the players heading down to the Valley.
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