Marcus Morris Should be Untouchable for the Detroit Pistons

For all his faults, Marcus Morris give the Detroit Pistons things that no other player on the roster can.

It’s no secret that the Detroit Pistons will be looking to shake up the roster this off-season. Stan Van Gundy has admitted as much.

With the speculation running wild, all the aspiring general managers in Piston fandom have there own ideas of who should stay and who should go. With respect, Marcus Morris is the one who should stay.

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It’s really not even an opinion as much as it’s a simple fact. Marcus Morris needs to be untouchable this off-season.

The naysayers will argue that Morris is a replaceable wing who isn’t truly great at any one thing. It’s true that Morris had a mediocre shooting season (41.8 per cent on field goals, 33.1 percent from three) and can be a ball-stopper on the offensive end. But that’s a bit misleading.

Morris is one of the few on this team who is capable of strong, vocal leadership, he provides enough of a three-point threat to stretch the defense, he’s capable of 30-point nights, he hardly ever turns the ball over, and he’s a sneaky tough defender. And that’s not even his best skill.

Morris’s most valuable number is $5 million. That’s his base salary for the upcoming year. On a middling team with an alarmingly bloated payroll, you can’t afford to lose everything Morris gives at such a bargain-basement price.

The only way Marcus Morris should not be on this team next year is if he’s involved in a trade for a superstar. That’s another way in which he’s valuable. He’s exactly the type of low-cost asset that a smart team would seek in a deal for a superstar.

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So when you’re starting your list of Detroit Pistons untouchable this off-season, make sure you start it with the guy with the impressive beard and the line drive jump shot. You’re doing it wrong otherwise.