Woj: Marcus Morris Reneging on Agreement with Spurs?

[SpursDynasty85]

I don't understand

He didn't sign the contract?

Apparently he never showed up for the physical.

[TXstbobcat]

It's interesting that Morris hasn't made a decision yet. I thought that he'd quickly sign with the Knicks after the news hit the press.

This is definitely a case of no news is good news for the Spurs. The longer this stretches out, the better chance that he'll ultimately pick the Spurs.

Isn't the hold up here the knicks trying to restructure a contract to free up extra money to pay Morris his $15 mil?

[Marcus Bryant]

Of course, maybe it's just the timeline for the moves (reworking Bullock's deal) the Knicks need to make for CBA adherence.

[cd98]

Won’t Spurs be a potential home next year with their salary cap space? Doing this means less teams to sign with for a bigger pay day.

[MannyIsGod]

Because I’m not so sure it doesn’t violate the CBA. It certainly violates the intent and spirit behind the CBA. And it’s particularly bad when the team relies on a promise to its detriment and sends off a player for nothing.

People would be up in arms of the shoe were on the other foot and the Spurs reneged. The iden y of the party backing out doesn’t make a difference legally. A deal is a deal and should be enforced as such.

I think there’s an argument to be had about who’s putting in work, but the player is definitely the one putting work on the court.

It doesn't violate the CBA. Ask Mark Cuban. You think the most petty owner in the NBA would have not done something if it did? You know what Mark Cuban did? He turned around and later signed DeAndre afetr he did it to him.

[timvp]

But there is optimism Morris and the Spurs will finalize their contract, sources said.

Haynes had details before everyone else so I wouldn't overlook this aspect. That Morris didn't instantly sign with the Knicks after Bullock failed his physical means he's at least thinking about it. The Knicks probably have a list of other options they could go to so they're probably pushing Morris for an answer, too.

[GusT15]

Isn't the hold up here the knicks trying to restructure a contract to free up extra money to pay Morris his $15 mil?

Probably yes.Cause they are keeping Bullock as well as signing Morris.

[dbreiden83080]

Apparently he never showed up for the physical.

So our trade should be void. If he agreed to the deal.

[ducks]

If spurs could do a sign and trade for Moris they could do longer deal for asshole

[MannyIsGod]

Because I’m not so sure it doesn’t violate the CBA. It certainly violates the intent and spirit behind the CBA. And it’s particularly bad when the team relies on a promise to its detriment and sends off a player for nothing.

People would be up in arms of the shoe were on the other foot and the Spurs reneged. The iden y of the party backing out doesn’t make a difference legally. A deal is a deal and should be enforced as such.

I think there’s an argument to be had about who’s putting in work, but the player is definitely the one putting work on the court.

In fact, the very existance of the moratorium period might be exactly FOR players to have this option. Otherwise what exactly is the point?

[timvp]

Isn't the hold up here the knicks trying to restructure a contract to free up extra money to pay Morris his $15 mil?

Bullock never signed a contract so there's nothing to restructure. It sounds like he failed the physical and that the Knicks will instead throw the money at Morris. Knicks might throw a couple million at Bullock in good faith ... depending on what the reason is he might not be able to play next season.

[Chinook]

I still hope Morris signs even though I wasn't really in love with the signing. The Spurs wanted him and had a plan to use him. It's better to wait on that and then see rather than getting pissed and finding a new player they didn't want as much. Of course this situation is borked, but I'm not sad about losing Bertans. The only issue is that they didn't also move Beli in the deal. That experiment had run its course. Now would I have preferred a TE to the MLE? Probably. But everything else will work out. The chances of the Spurs signing a legit third center or moving Eubanks up and signing another two-way player go up if they go into camp with only 14 guaranteed spots.

[MannyIsGod]

So our trade should be void. If he agreed to the deal.

The trade was for Carroll. Morris is a free agent signing.

[RD2191]

Good luck with the “search” feature.

[dbreiden83080]

The trade was for Carroll. Morris is a free agent signing.

That is some Bull . Agrees, and then blows off the physical to get out of it. CBA is BS..

[Blackhaus]

It sounded like they were reworking the numbers to pay bullock less money, at least what I read somewhere.

[exstatic]

So our trade should be void. If he agreed to the deal.

Nope. Our trade with Wash is completely independent of signing Morris. It had to happen first.

I don’t think the delay is a good sign at all. NY is just doing capology things, and when that’s done, he’ll sign.

[SpursDynasty85]

So our trade should be void. If he agreed to the deal.

In this case, it cant. Spurs needed to trade some one and finalize that deal before even having a spot open for any free agent. In a better world, voiding the trade would be nice. Big winner is demarre Carrol. He got a cool $2M or so for free.

[Marcus Bryant]

Haynes had details before everyone else so I wouldn't overlook this aspect. That Morris didn't instantly sign with the Knicks after Bullock failed his physical means he's at least thinking about it. The Knicks probably have a list of other options they could go to so they're probably pushing Morris for an answer, too.

Maybe they're waiting for him to show up for the physical and his signature before anything is announced. Seems prudent.

[Mr. Body]

im sure they got a verbal commitment. but no, its not binding as a verbal contract. there are certain types of contracts which must be in writing to be enforceable, this is among them.

te ally the spurs may have some legal recourse, but not one that would force morris to honor any agreement with them. just money damages. and there's zero chance they do that. no FA would look at the spurs if they go around suing players

There is something called promissory estoppel, which essentially means that a promise made and then broken can be actionable if the aggrieved party suffered damages through the breaking. The Spurs would have a case in potentially recovering the extra money given to Carroll, potentially something from the Bertans trade, and more. I would think Klutch would be the responsible party, but perhaps Morris, too.

Now, I doubt they go this far, but the legal principle exists.

[Blackhaus]

Whether he comes or not, the real issue is the Spurs lost a trade piece for nothing. As much as we got on Davis, he still has value around the league and the spurs got a giant img slap in the face as compensation for him if this plays out. Sucks.

[timvp]

Maybe they're waiting for him to show up for the physical and his signature before anything is announced. Seems prudent.

Heh. Good point, tbh.

[Mr. Body]

Going after Klutch is futile at this point. Ultinately its within the rules and its Morris's decision. You think trading Murray or forcing him to get involved is smart? Smart move is to stay patient and make tactical decisions. If Klutch was involved the overreaction and slandering of Morris os fuel for Morris and other players and agents to criticize Spurs fan base. Keep the criticism inline with the presence at hand. As of roght now, everyone is obviously emotional but, in the end, better to be level headed about this stuff and keep things in context. Spurs will probably work their back channels.

What I've maintained as far as Klutch is that there's no point in dealing with them from here on. This will be an issue when Murray's contract comes up. There's absolutely no reason to consider them reliable whatsoever.

[MannyIsGod]

There is something called promissory estoppel, which essentially means that a promise made and then broken can be actionable if the aggrieved party suffered damages through the breaking. The Spurs would have a case in potentially recovering the extra money given to Carroll, potentially something from the Bertans trade, and more. I would think Klutch would be the responsible party, but perhaps Morris, too.

Now, I doubt they go this far, but the legal principle exists.

I'd bet money that part of the CBA is that parties don't go through the normal legal route but instead some form of arbitration. NBA negotiations aren't like regular business negotiations.

[timvp]

What I've maintained as far as Klutch is that there's no point in dealing with them from here on. This will be an issue when Murray's contract comes up. There's absolutely no reason to consider them reliable whatsoever.

So would you trade Murray now?