Report: Suns' Morris tosses towel at coach Hornacek after being pulled from game
A little over 24 hours until Santa Claus pays a visit, Markieff Morris of the Phoenix Suns decided to enter Grinch mode as his frustrations with the team and his diminishing role boiled over in one defiant act.
The Suns dropped their third game in a row and fifth in six tries at home on Wednesday night in a 104-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets - a team coming off a defeat at the hands of the lowly 5-23 Los Angeles Lakers the night before.
Early in the fourth quarter, Morris reportedly tossed a towel at head coach Jeff Hornacek after being pulled from the game, according to the Arizona Republic's Paul Coro. Hornacek tossed the towel aside and "fired back in words."
"He thinks he's better than that," Hornacek said after the game about Morris' unwillingness to exit the game. "Well, show me."
The team will look into potential disciplinary actions against Morris, who made no comment concerning the incident afterward, other than that it would be discussed between him and Hornacek at a later time.
Morris - who was the third power forward off the bench Wednesday - has played his way out of Hornacek's rotation with four straight DNP-CDs from Dec. 11 to 16, averaging 11 points and five rebounds on just 38.4 percent shooting from the field on the season.
His name has been linked to both the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans as a potential trade chip, although the longer the Suns wait to pull the trigger on a deal (if that's the route they intend to go), the more Morris' value dips as his minutes decrease and attitude problems come to the forefront.
Morris is currently in the first year of a four-year, $32-million contract extension with the franchise.