So, who is Monte Morris and why is he a great signing?

Monte Morris is a player I never thought I'd see in Europe. Not long ago, he seemed like he had his NBA career path secured, being one of the most reliable backup Point Guards in the League, and quite frankly, one of my favourite NBA role players. His career has dwindled in the last 2 seasons, yet I feel like they are worse PGs than him with a secure NBA future. Olympiacos is a team that, despite possessing a great roster, has some very notable issues this year. The first one is that their Center position is a bit untrustworthy, mainly due to an over-reliance on Nikola Milutinov, who is currently playing like the best Center in the league. The other is PG position. Nigel Williams-Goss and Luca Vildoza left this summer, leaving Saben Lee, Thomas Walkup and an injured Keenan Evans on the roster. Injury issues forced Olympiacos to sign Ntilikina, but the problem was not solved with his arrival. The return of Evans sparked some hope, but in the end it only led to one of the unluckiest moments in recent Euroleague history. It was made apparent that Olympiacos could not get far with a Walkup - Ntilikina - Lee rotation, and thus we arrive to the current situation. 

His career:

Morris completed his NCAA career with the Iowa State Cyclones, where he shared team with future Euroleague players Weiler-Babb, Matt Thomas, Mitrou-Long or future NBAer Deonte Burton. He was drafted as the 51st pick of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, and spent his first NBA season (2017-18) in the G-League, barring 3 appearances with the 1st team. His fortunes changed in his sophomore season, where his role dramatically increased, cementing himself as one of the best backup PGs in the league. He played all 82 games, averaging 10.4 points, on almost 50-40-80 shooting splits and showing very good playmaking skills. From the 2018-19 season to the 2020-21 season he proved to be just that. A very efficient (both in shooting percentages playmaking wise and overall decision making) PG, who backed up Jamal Murray and kept the Nuggets offence at a very good level. At times, he even held the best assist-turnover ratio in the League. When Murray tore his ACL, Morris got the starting role in the 2021-22 season, and while his stats were good, he perhaps showed he could not be a piece for the Nuggets in the long term.

In the 2022 summer, he would get traded to the Wizards, along with Will Barton, for KCP, ending his tenure with the Nuggets (who got the Championship that year, with KCP being an important player for them). He was a key of that pre-championship Jokic Nuggets era, along with players like Will Barton, Will Chandler, Gary Harris, Malik Beasley, Trey Lyles and of course Paul Millsap. He even shared teams with Facundo Campazzo, Juancho Hernangomez, Trey Lyles or Kenneth Faried, all of which he will face in the Euroleague

Afterwards, he was a part of a very mediocre Washington Wizards team (with Porzingis, Beal or Avdija), where he kept his usual stat line (10+ points, 4+ assists, low turnovers, 38%+ on threes, 45%+ on FGs). After that season, he was traded to Detroit, appearing for only 6 games before going to the Timberwolves, where both his minutes and his statistical production got halved. He would fight for the backup PG spot, with Conley being the started on that KAT-Gobert Wolves team. His role in the playoffs would further diminish, and he would sign as a Free Agent with the Suns in the summer of 2024, trying to bring some order to that chaos of the Durant-Booker-Beal big 3. Morris, Tuys Jones, Royce O'Neal or Grayson Allen were supposed to be the glue, but the experiment failed miserably, and so he ended without a team in 2025. He briefly played for the Pacers this season, but after 6 games he was cut. That happened almost simultaneously with the Evans injury, and thus we arrive at this point in time.

Video of his best Playoff performance vs the Warriors:

 

Scouting Report

The best way to describe Monte Morris (as he did when he arrived in Athens) is as a Floor General. His best attribute is the ball security he offers. I have made a lot of emphasis on his Assist-Turnover ratio, because that's his calling card (and nickname). At times, he was the all time NBA leader of this stat. He also possesses the best ratio in NCAA history. He knows how to pass, he knows how to make smart reads and he can for sure set up an offence, which are all a testament to his very high Basketball IQ. 

He is also quite a good shooter, averaging close or above 40% in most of his seasons, and is overall an efficient player in FGs and in FTs, although his percentages have fallen a lot since the 2022-23 season. It's not like he is an amazing shooting talent, but his shot selection is elite, a testament, once again, to his Basketball IQ we have talked about. He can also penetrate, but will look to pull-up from the midrange, use a floater or pass the ball, rather than go to the rim and attack the paint, as he has not have the physical tools to do so. He has a decent -not elite- pull-up jumper, both from the mid range area and from three, so he can be a scoring threat from the first ball screen.

A weakness he has is his size, physicality and overall physical profile. He is neither athletic, tall or strong, which is what kicked him out of the NBA (although I still think he could have a role for some teams). His defence as such is far from being elite. He is not a fundamentally bad defender, as he is a smart player and can steal the ball, but he was not good enough for the NBA in that regard. It is also somewhat worrisome that he has been on a downwards trend since he left the Wizards, not being able to revert his situation in Detroit, Minnesota, Phoenix or Indiana.

Does he fit for Olympiacos?

If things go well, he can be an excellent fit. Bartzokas always wanted a cerebral PG (which explains his refusal to sign other US PGs which have a different profile to Morris), but it was made apparent that in the F4 his team suffered from the lack of offensive threat that players like Walkup provided. Saben Lee has failed mostly due to his lack of off-ball play and his lack of Floor General skills. Morris can provide both. However, he needs to be well physically and adapt to European basketball play.

Best and Worst Case Scenario:

The best case scenario for Olympiacos is them having found a top playmaker, who, on paper, fits with what Bartzokas demands from the PG position, and adds shooting ability. He can both set the offence up, keep the defence honest as a floor spacer when the ball is not in his hands and can bring some ton ball scoring threat. Those things, automatically raise both the floor and the ceiling of Olympiacos which has not convinced me at all thus far. Especially after the Loss at the Palau Blaugrana at the hands of the new Barcelona of Xavi Pascual, it was made obvious that without Morris, Olympiacos cannot truly contend for a title. The fact that the PGs that the reds have at their disposal cannot be a scoring threat (Lee can do that, but not in the Olympiacos system) means that Dorsey or Fournier have the ball too much in their hands which does not benefit the offensive fluidity. Both of them are more 1v1 players, struggle to setup the offence (2.5 assists to 2.2 turnovers for the Greek SG, 2.4 assists to 1.9 turnovers for the French one), yet due to Walkup's or Ntilikina's lack of threat, they have to have the ball in their hands more than what I think they should.

The worst case scenario is that Morris is in a downwards trend, and he may not be good enough to give a substantial change. Olympiacos needs a player that can truly change the dynamic of the team. Morris has the potential to do that. Not because he is an amazing scorer, but because he can be solid as an off ball/on ball option and an elite playmaker at the same time. This means that his ceiling as a player is not being a 14+ ppg player, but more of 10-2-5 player that makes the team better. Thus, Dorsey and Fournier will still have to be elite perimeter go to guys in that regard. So, in a worst case scenario, he quite simply is a Goss 2.0, which is not good enough to make Olympiacos the Number 1 contender for the Euroleague. There is also a danger that the combination of age, lack of physicality and adaptation to FIBA ball, kills his chances at a good Euroleague career.

What is the future of the PG spot for the Reds?

I think Morris has to be given the keys of the Olympiacos offense. Walkup/Ntilikina will have to hold the fort until Morris adapts, but once he does, he will have to be the main PG. Walkup and Ntilikina can be good backups, as they provide more size and defence than the ex-Nuggets man, but cannot score as well as he can. It is obvious that Lee has no future in the team as of now. Overall, I think it is a great signing, as I have 0 doubts that he is a very good player, but most importantly, a great fit for Olympiacos.