Marcus Morris Sr. will Leave NBA Bubble in September for the Birth of his Son

The LA Clippers will be without an important piece of the roster for some portion of the NBA Playoffs.

During Friday's Zoom call, Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. told reporters that he would be leaving the bubble in September for the birth of his son:

"Growing up without a father, you know, puts so much stuff in perspective," Morris said. "I'm just happy to be one. I've got another son on the way sometime in September. Excited about fatherhood, excited about teaching my boys. I can't wait... I will [be leaving], yes. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The timing of Morris' son's birth is a bit vague, but what we do know is that it will take place during the postseason — meaning the Clippers will need to get creative with the starting lineup for at least a handful of games.

As far as what stage of the postseason Morris will miss, that's a bit harder to determine. The Conference Semifinals are slated to begin on Sept. 1, with the Conference Finals tipping-off on Sept. 15. The NBA Finals will begin on Sept. 30 as well, so there's a good chance that Morris could miss some important contests before he returns to the bubble.

While Morris wasn't particularly productive through his first 12 games with the Clippers — he averaged just 9.5 points on 38.6% shooting from the field — he was playing the best basketball of his career with the New York Knicks earlier in the year.

If keeping a floor-spacing forward in the lineup is important for the Clippers, the team certainly has options. JaMychal Green is the same size as Morris and is efficient from range, and he looked impressive in the 2019 Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors. Patrick Patterson, while a downgrade from both Morris and Green, started at the four over a dozen times for LA this season.

When it comes down to it though, no one is going to blame Morris for leaving. There are many things that are more important than basketball, and the birth of a child is certainly one of them.