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Markieff Morris was the only member of the Lakers that didn’t arrive at Disney World with the team last week due to an excused (but unexplained) absence, but he is now officially on his way and will enter quarantine before joining his teammates soon, according to multiple reports:
Markieff Morris is expected to arrive on the Disney campus today to begin quarantine, according to a source.
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) July 21, 2020
Lakers forward Markieff Morris is scheduled to arrive in Orlando today, per a league source. He will then have to clear quarantine.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 21, 2020
Markieff Morris will be heading into quarantine once he gets here later today. The Lakers will have everyone they’re expecting once he arrives.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) July 21, 2020
Last week James Harden arrived in the bubble and was able to join his team for practice two days later after two separate negative coronavirus tests. Until we hear differently, expect a similar process for Morris (whose twin brother, Marcus, was also missing but has already cleared quarantine and is practicing with the Clippers).
Silver Screen and Roll first covered how Morris was missing from several days worth of practice photos spanning Getty’s extensive archive and the team’s various social media channels on July 14, and how the team was staying mum about it.
The next day before practice, several beat reporters pressed Lakers head coach Frank Vogel on how Morris was playing or whether or not he was with the team, and Vogel declined to specifically comment, citing privacy concerns. It was subsequently leaked to said reporters that Morris had an excused absence — but not what that absence was for — and that he planned to join the team in Orlando at a later time. It has still not been publicly revealed why both Morris twins were gone.
Morris appeared in 8 games for the Lakers after being acquired off of the buyout market in February, and he averaged 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds while making 14 of his 36 shots so far. Once he clears quarantine, he’s expected to provide the team with a versatile defender and some additional floor-spacing in multiple lineups.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.