After a few months of a rumored return, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed to terms to bring back veteran forward Markieff Morris. They’ll have to open up a roster spot to make the move official, which likely means A.J. Lawson’s unguaranteed contract will be waived.

Morris was traded to the Mavericks as part of the Kyrie Irving trade in 2023 and has been a key veteran presence in the locker room. He appeared in just 26 games for the Mavs last season, averaging 2.5 PPG. He did get a chance to check into the NBA Finals for the second time, hitting a three-pointer in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics.

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The Dallas Mavericks valued the leadership Morris brought to the locker room and while some fans wanted him on the bench as an assistant coach, Morris preferred to keep playing and is now back in Dallas.

Morris has played on eight different teams since being selected in the lottery of the 2011 NBA Draft. He most notably won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, averaging 5.9 PPG in that playoff run. While he won’t get his wish of playing with his twin brother Marcus, he should be happy to return to Dallas after mentioning it all offseason.

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There aren’t many people around football who believe Clemson will turn things around. The past 12 months would suggest they won’t, but history says they will.

Let’s not get too over the top here. Clemson is still a very talented football team, and losing to the consensus No. 1 team in America didn’t change that.

However, they need to start playing better. There’s no debating that. They’ll have an opportunity to do so on Saturday against an App State team that could beat them if they come out flat.

Emmitt Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys all-time great, shared that message. He spoke with Derrian Carter of The Greenville News about how important it is for them to come together and go on an impressive stretch.

“The good thing about having an early loss (is) as you start to gain momentum, and your team comes together, you get some wins on your belt (and) you get on the run, you never know how the end of the season may end,” Smith said. “They started off with the best, the No. 1 team in the nation. … Now, it’s about not having a mental let down (Saturday) and allowing Appalachian State to come in and shock you.”

Smith will attend Saturday’s game at Clemson, giving him a first-hand look at the team.

His advice to Clemson wasn’t the only thing he touched on. Smith also spoke about the potential conference change, as the Tigers are in a legal battle with the ACC.

“The SEC is already full, so don’t come there,” Smith said. “You’re better off staying in the ACC than going into the SEC because ain’t gonna be many more national championships. … I think being in the ACC, that conference has the ability to offer something that the SEC doesn’t offer. I think the ACC, whether you got Duke, you got Stanford now, you got great quality schools in there, I think it offers something different.”

His point is fair. The ACC has high-level academic schools, and while the SEC has a few, it doesn’t compare to the ACC.

However, all of this is about money. Whether Clemson wants to admit that or not is fair, but that’s the reality of the situation. If they believe they’d make more money in a different conference, that’s where they’ll be headed.

Nonetheless, it’ll be awesome to have a legend in the building on Saturday night.

Below you’ll find the top performances in rushing, receiving and passing from Dallas-area Texas high school football players in Week 2.

Rushing

Player, School, Yards

Moses Adelowo, Denton Braswell, 253

Sterling Schneider, Denton Guyer, 219

Cam Newton, Prosper Walnut Grove, 202

DeAngelo Perales, Garland Naaman Forest, 201

Christian Rhodes, Lake Highlands, 199

Micah Rivers, Northwest Eaton, 197

Travis Agee, Plano East, 191

Javian Osborne, Forney, 187

Kelden Ryan, DeSoto, 175

Watson Bell, Argyle, 170

Legend Bey, North Forney, 169

Rodney Franklin, Mesquite Horn 163

Receiving

Player, School, Yards

Vincent Aparicio, Princeton, 226

Carterrious Brown, Arlington Seguin, 187

Quentin Gibson, North Crowley, 180

Trantan Miles, Arlington Martin, 171

Xavier Green, The Colony, 168

Ryder Treadway, Frisco Wakeland, 162

McKenzie West, Frisco Independence, 159

Paulo Jimenez, South Garland, 158

Samuel Williams, North Garland, 144

Zion Robinson, Mansfield, 139

Tatum Bell, Jr., Frisco Heritage, 132

Trysten Shaw, Mesquite, 130

Passing

Player, School, Yards

Carson Porter, Keller Timber Creek, 350

Jayden Maples, Frisco Wakeland, 330

Marcus Flowers, Princeton, 328

Keelon Russell, Duncanville, 325

Cornell McGee IV, Richardson Berkner, 324

Daylon Brooks, South Grand Prairie, 311

Noah Schuback, Melissa, 310

Jackson Hays, Plano East, 302

Braeden Imhoff, Prosper, 292

Edward Griffin, Coppell, 283

Presley Harper, Richardson Pearce, 278

Ziondre Williams, Anna, 276

Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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