Clippers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Markieff Morris, Pursuit of Kent Bazemore, More

The arms race between the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers is on once again. 

After a disappointing exit in the conference semifinals last season, the Clippers are in a pivotal offseason. The Kawhi Leonard-Paul George pairing was expected to elevate the team into the biggest obstacle in the way of the LeBron James-Anthony Davis-led Lakers. 

Instead, we never even got the battle for Los Angeles conference finals after they lost in seven games to the Denver Nuggets. 

The offseason has seen both teams make big moves. Most notably the Lakers signed Montrezl Harrell away from the Clippers. They also lost JaMychal Green to the Denver Nuggets. 

Fortunately, general manager Michael Winger was able to recoup some of the loss with the addition of Serge Ibaka. They were also able to re-sign Marcus Morris Sr., which may lead to another free-agent acquisition. They also swapped Landry Shamet for Luke Kennard. 

Still, the Lakers have had a huge offseason with the addition of Harrell and Dennis Schroder via trade. So the question now becomes what moves could the Clippers still have left? And what insight do we have into what moves they wanted to do that didn't work out?

Those are the points of interest being whispered about in the rumor mill. 

The Marcus Morris experiment brought inconsistent results in his short run with the Clippers last season, but the forward reportedly inked a four-year extension with the team. He may be a key in recruiting another addition, as his brother Markieff Morris is reportedly interested in joining him. 

Jason Dumars of KRON4 News reported the player wants to join his brother and the Clippers "are interested but taking their time."

Markieff, 31, played an important role for the Lakers in the postseason after the team acquired him in the middle of the year. He played 18.3 minutes per game in the playoffs while chipping in 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and shooting over 40 percent from distance. 

The twins haven't played together since 2015 when both played for the Phoenix Suns. 

Morris would likely play a small role with a fairly crowded frontcourt. The team will likely start Ivica Zubac at center with Marcus getting the start at power forward, Serge Ibaka coming off the bench and Patrick Patterson rounding out the rotation. 

Still, it never hurts to add depth with a veteran who has the toughness, defense and three-point shooting that Markieff brings to the table. 

One signing that could have helped the Clippers strengthen their depth on the wing would have been Kent Bazemore. The forward ultimately signed a one-year deal to go back to Golden State. 

The three-and-D specialist was among the first free agents the Clippers expressed interest in, and the team discussed using its $3.6 million bi-annual exception to sign him, per Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. 

Greif also noted that Stephen Curry likely played a large role in bringing Bazemore back. The two are good friends going back to the early days of their careers, but this one stings a little for the Clippers. 

The team still needs depth behind Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the wing. Kennard can help offensively, but Bazemore's 6'11" wingspan and the defense that comes with it would have been a good fit. Bazemore averaged 8.8 points and 1.1 steals per contest with the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings last season. 

Greif also noted the team was interested in Torrey Craig, who would have filled a similar role, but he chose to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks, so the Clippers are 0-for-2 in filling the void they have with the resources they have to work with. 

Drawing on the experience of 2019 when the Clippers had to wait out Kawhi Leonard's decision, it isn't how you start free agency but how you finish it. 

That was the example that Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times used in his latest on the Clippers' free-agency moves, or lack thereof. Outside of the Ibaka signing, which is a big deal, the Clippers haven't made any flashy moves. 

The most interesting line from Woike's latest comes when talking about what executives around the league are expecting from Tyronn Lue's team. 

"If you ask around the NBA, people expect the Clippers to have something special up their sleeves," Woike writes. '"They've got to, right?' one Eastern Conference executive said."

Woike also mentions that the Clippers are among the quietest front offices in the league, so what exactly that move could be is yet to be seen and as of yet unmentioned in the rumor mill. 

However, with Leonard and George in tow and neither guaranteed to be in Los Angeles for the long term, the time is certainly now to be going all in.