Houston Rockets: 5 moves we wish were April Fools jokes

4: Bypassing future stars for Marcus Morris

The NBA draft took place on June 23rd, 2011. The Houston Rockets were seeking some frontcourt help as they continued their transition into Moreyball so, the selected Marcus Morris out of Kansas with the 14th overall pick.

Just eight days later on July 1st, the NBA entered into a lockout that would go on to last months into the season. The two sides finally worked out a deal and play commenced on December 8th. So, Morris’ first season in the NBA would be an abbreviated one that only lasted 66 games. Of those 66, he only played in 17.

It’s hard to blame a kid coming out college into the NBA for having a bad rookie season when it’s lockout-shortened and he only played 17 games. But, Morris’ first year was not good. He played just over 7 minutes a game and averaged 2.4 points, the rest of his stats remained fractional.

His sophomore campaign went better, he played in a lot more games and even started in about a third of them. He was scoring a lot more points and grabbing a decent amount of rebounds. He was also shooting over 38% from three. Then, for a variety of reasons, the team decided to dump him for a second round pick.

This draft selection stings, big time. Chandler Parsons, whom the Houston Rockets selected in the second round of the 2011 draft, vastly outperformed Morris. But, what’s worse is the guys the team passed over for Morris. They consist of Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Kenneth Faried, Nikola Mirotic and Isaiah Thomas. Oh yeah, I forgot about Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. I really wish this one was an April Fools joke.