Ex-Cavs player arrested in Florida, faces fraud charge allegedly tied to casino debt

Former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Marcus Morris was arrested on a fraud charge on Sunday in Florida.

Morris, who last played in the NBA in the 2023-24 season with the Cavs, was a first-round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and also spent time with the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers.

According to Yony Noy – Morris’ agent – the charge is related to an outstanding marker with a casino.

Morris’ booking records state that he’s being held due to an insufficient funds check. Hopefully, this is something that the former Cavs forward will be able to rectify.

Morris’ twin brother Markieff took to social media to defend him after he was arrested.

“The wording is crazy,” Markieff Morris wrote on X. “Damn for that amount of money they’ll embarrass you in the airport with your family. They got y’all really thinking bro did some fraud shit. They could have came to the crib for all that. When y’all hear the real story on this shit man. All I can say is Lesson learned. Bro will tell y’all tomorrow. This weird shit gave me a headache. Can’t stop nothin!”

Marcus Morris spent the end of the 2023-24 season with the Cavs, appearing in 12 regular season games. He averaged 5.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game for Cleveland while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.

The Cavs went on to make the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, but they were knocked out in the second round by the Boston Celtics in just five games. Marcus Morris appeared in nine playoff games for the Cavs that season, making one start.

In the postseason, he averaged 6.1 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from 3.

Now that he’s 35 years old, it appears that Marcus Morris’ best days of playing in the NBA – and potentially his NBA career – are over. He carved out a solid role with several teams, playing 13 total seasons in the NBA once his Cavs stint ended.

However, Marcus Morris’ Cavs tenure came to an end in a bit of a weird way, as he called out Cavs center Jarrett Allen for not playing through a rib issue in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. It’s possible that criticism of Allen was part of the reason the veteran forward did not remain with the team beyond the 2023-24 season.