Morrison inks one-year deal with Turkish club Besiktas

Adam Morrison has signed a one-year deal with Turkish team Besiktas, his agent Brad Ames told SI.com.

The former Gonzaga star who came close to retiring last year before his hoops revival had been let out of his deal with Serbia's Red Star Belgrade in late November. But sources close to him said his best shot at returning to the NBA fell through when Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur tore his ACL and the team sought another big man instead of a perimeter threat. They ultimately traded for Philadelphia center Marreese Speights last week, and Morrison was forced to continue rediscovering his game overseas.

Morrison, the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft by Charlotte, lost his love for basketball while languishing on the Lakers' bench during their championship runs in 2009 and 2010. After being cut from the Wizards' training camp in Oct. 2010, Morrison returned to his hometown of Spokane, Wash., and didn't play formally again until he joined Red Star the following summer.

He averaged 15.5 points per game for Red Star and showed some of the fiery style for which he was known in college, then received significant interest from some Euroleague teams and was even confident he could return to the NBA.

Besiktas, the team New Jersey point guard Deron Williams signed with during the NBA lockout, recently lost American shooting guard Marcelus Kemp to a quadriceps injury that will keep him out at least a month and has filled its need with Morrison.