Phoenix Suns General Manager Lance Blanks rushed down from the Suns war room to address the media just minutes after his team's pick of Markieff Morris with the 13th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was announced. He expressed his excitement at getting Markieff Morris and sees him as a tough player who can impact the team immediately. Blanks also sees the pick as a chance to leave his mark on the team.
"It's extremely important to get a player like Markieff. We made trades during the season and now this is our first draft. This gives us an opportunity to lay our imprint on this organization and on this team. This is our first draft choice and our first opportunity through the draft to do that," Blanks said.
Asked about the choice of Markieff over his twin brother Marcus, Blanks was a bit unclear in his response, "I think the draft's a funny thing. You never know why teams do what they do...As to why Markieff over Marcus, who knows."
Other Blanks comments:
"We stayed true to our process. We're very process-driven...His name surfaced as a possibility as we looked at the numbers...It all made sense based on where we had him on the board."
"I love his intangibles. He's tough. We have a team that is resilient but he offers us a mental and physical toughness that's almost impossible to quantify with numbers."
"I certainly hope he can come in. I think he can come in and impact the roster. That will be up to coach Gentry and his staff in terms of his minutes. Lon (Babby), John Treloar, and myself will be pushing from the outside to try and get him on the floor as soon as possible."
For more reaction on the Phoenix Suns 2011 NBA Draft pick, visit Bright Side of the Sun.