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Why Is Marcus Morris So Excited About Joining Celtics?

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics needed to trim their roster a bit in order to fit Gordon Hayward and the max contract he signed this summer, and Avery Bradley was the unfortunate victim of that numbers crunch.

Boston fans hated to see Bradley go, but they should be pretty excited that Marcus Morris has been added to the mix. The six-year forward, acquired from the Detroit Pistons, is certainly excited to be joining a team that earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and made it to the conference finals.

But his biggest source of joy is one he shares with many fans all around Boston.

"How could I be upset about going to the Boston Celtics? Paul Pierce has always been my favorite player," Morris told Boston reporters on a conference call on Wednesday. "I reached out to him to see if I could get some work in with him, so how could I ever have a bad thought about it?"

Morris said he reached out to the recently-retired Pierce after being traded to the Celtics, and "The Truth" has no doubt his fellow Kansas alum will enjoy his time in green.

"I'm picking his brain about Boston. First thing he said to me was that I was going to love it," said Morris.

Morris will add some grit and toughness to the C's, which he's brought to each of his three stops in the NBA since first coming into the league in 2011.

"Every day I'm going to come in and put my hard hat on. I think that will make me better, make the guys better. I'm ready for a championship," he said. "This is the first time in my career where I can say I have an opportunity to compete for the Finals."

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