"For all the compliments Markieff Morris received after the Suns drafted him in June, the best one he has received might be in the form of interest from Athens.

European clubs are built with veteran players who are well-versed in team basketball and drilled in fundamentals. It is rare that any team, particularly a Euroleague power, reaches out to an American rookie but Panathinaikos is pursuing Morris to fill a power forward void.

Morris' agent, Tony Dutt, said talks with Panathinaikos are "moving along" but nothing is imminent. Dutt said he would pursue an out clause so that Morris could return to the Suns if the lockout ends. It is not clear whether Panathinaikos, the Euroleague's defending champion, would be willing to risk a midseason personnel loss to do that."