Marcus and Markieff Morris switch agents ahead of NBA free agency

We still don’t know exactly when NBA free agency is going to take place, but we know it’s probably going to be soon. And whenever it begins, Lakers free agent Markieff Morris and his twin brother, Clippers forward Marcus Morris, will have new representation while they negotiate with their respective Los Angeles-based teams and other suitors.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the story on the interestingly timed switcharoo:

This can clearly only mean one thing:

But in all seriousness, while the timing of this was eyebrow-raising, it’s unclear what it means — if anything — for either twin beyond them clearly wanting a new agent. Both were previously repped by Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports, so this isn’t just about both having the same agent again or something, because they already shared one prior to this move.

Both Morris twins are unrestricted free agents this summer, and how hard their respective teams will fight to keep them are two of the biggest questions of the offseason in Los Angeles. The Clippers gave up a first-round pick in their deal for Marcus, which would seem to indicate that retaining him will be a priority.

Things are a bit more complicated for the Lakers and Markieff. He was incredibly valuable as a part of the team’s best small-ball lineups in the bubble, almost like a larger Alex Caruso in the way he played his role and just did the little stuff to grease the wheels and allow the Lakers’ stars to shine brighter.

How much will that be worth to the team in free agency? It’s not clear — especially since we don’t know exactly what the cap will be yet — and it’s similarly unclear what this switch means in terms of how he’ll approach the market this summer, if it even means anything.

Still, this is a fascinating time to switch agents, and after giving back salary to the Detroit Pistons in a buyout to chase a ring in L.A., Markieff may not be willing to take a discount on two contracts in a row. Now we know who will be doing the negotiating for him when he makes that call, if he hasn’t already.

And for Chafie, if you’re reading this, we’ve got an easy way for you to show interested teams the difference between the twins:

You’re welcome.

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