Knicks Waive Two Players After Karl-Anthony Towns Trade

The sun has already set on Marcus Morris’ return to the New York Knicks.

As the team finalizes its trade for former Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns (first reported by Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the Knicks announced the waiving of Marcus Morris and Chuma Okeke on Saturday. The moves will allow the Knicks to stabilize the financial situations in acquiring Towns, as they’re set to send contracts of several side players over to the Charlotte Hornets.

In metropolitan circles, Morris is perhaps best-known for his prior stint in New York, which gained a cult following when he was the leading scorer for the otherwise dreary group from 2019-20 at 19.6 points a game. Morris was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers during that season and was later dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers early last year in the famed James Harden deal.

Morris spent last season in Philadelphia and Cleveland and was one of several former Phoenix Suns signed in the latter stages of this offseason. The 35-year-old and first-round pick from the 2011 draft was signed less than two weeks ago and one day after New York picked up his former teammate Landry Shamet. Morris averaged 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds over 49 appearances with the 76ers and Cavaliers and he later partook in the latter’s nine-game playoff run.

Okeke was likewise bid farewell after signing an Exhibit 10 deal earlier this offseason. A first-round pick in 2019, Okeke averaged 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in four seasons with the Orlando Magic before signing with the Knicks. The Auburn alum likewise saw some playoff time last year, appearing in two games for the Magic.

The Knicks will continue to shed salaries as the complete the Towns process. SNY’s Ian Begley reported that DaQuan Jeffries will likely be part of the deal as one of the shipments to Charlotte.

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