Former Timberwolves guard Monte Morris headed to Phoenix Suns

The Timberwolves lost guard Monte Morris on Tuesday after he agreed to a free-agent deal with the Phoenix Suns.

The Wolves dealt Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton and a future second-round pick to the Pistons at the trade deadline for Morris who they hoped could be a scorer and point guard off the bench. But Morris had an injury-plagued season and never quite got his production off the ground. By the playoffs, Morris was out of the rotation.

Morris, 29, appeared in 27 games for the Wolves and averaged 5.1 points per game. Morris has been in seven NBA seasons and has averaged 10 points per game for his career. He averaged 2.3 points in nine playoff games for the Wolves last season. He had previously played under Wolves President Tim Connelly in Denver, where he began his career after being a second-round pick in 2017.

First-round pick Rob Dillingham’s arrival likely expedited Morris’ departure since Dillingham will likely earn minutes in the backup point guard/bench scorer role the Wolves had pegged for Morris.