Knicks · Deron Williams to sign with Turkish Team (page 1)

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New Jersey NetsReport: Nets PG Deron Williams Agrees To Play for Turkish Team BesiktasBy Ethan Norof(Featured Columnist) on July 7, 2011 5,254 reads
16 comments
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The 2011 NBA lockout is going to force some talent overseas, but Deron Williams is the first major name to make an international splash.

News broke this morning from Turkey that Williams has agreed in principle to play for Besiktas, according to TalkBasket.net. Turkish site ntvspor.net first reported the story.

It's a major win for the Turkish club that experimented with American talent last season by bringing in Allen Iverson, though that one didn't exactly work out to its favor.

Williams' contract reportedly has an out clause that will allow him to return stateside and play in the NBA as soon as the lockout is over, but it looks as if this one will be rather lengthy.

I certainly didn't imagine D-Will was going to be the first big-time talent to take his game to the international stage, but it appears even the biggest stars of the game know what's going to be in store with this lockout.

Williams, who clearly didn't want to stay inactive during the work stoppage, is expected to anchor the team as its season gets under way.

This news comes just days after the Nets had told Williams that they plan to pursue Dwight Howard, so if nothing else, it's interesting timing for the announcement.

The signing of D-Will is one of the most newsworthy items that has emerged since the lockout went into full effect just about a week ago, but it probably won't be the last.

Williams' signing has set the stage for some big names to take their talents to the international platform, and it should be interesting to see how the dominoes fall after this one.

Link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/75998...

Also, Alex Kennedy has been talking about this on twitter.

Good for him! I hope every player signs overseas just to stick it to these owners who blame the players for their own poor decisions.

I'm curious to see if this will actually happen. I haven't heard of the FIBA granting the NBA players clearance to sign contracts while still under contract with their NBA team.

Andrew wrote:I'm curious to see if this will actually happen. I haven't heard of the FIBA granting the NBA players clearance to sign contracts while still under contract with their NBA team.

This is from Netsdaily:

Besiktas would face several hurdles before it got even close to signing Williams. He would have obtain a clearance from FIBA, the international basketball federation, permitting him to play in Europe while still under contract with the Nets. If the Nets or NBA challenges that, the players union has said it will sue. Also, someone would have to pay the enormous insurance bill required to indemnify him against career ending injuries.

CrushAlot wrote:

Andrew wrote:I'm curious to see if this will actually happen. I haven't heard of the FIBA granting the NBA players clearance to sign contracts while still under contract with their NBA team.

This is from Netsdaily:

Besiktas would face several hurdles before it got even close to signing Williams. He would have obtain a clearance from FIBA, the international basketball federation, permitting him to play in Europe while still under contract with the Nets. If the Nets or NBA challenges that, the players union has said it will sue. Also, someone would have to pay the enormous insurance bill required to indemnify him against career ending injuries.

So an owner can force you to stop working without pay and can stop you from working for anyone else also? That seems inherently wrong. I hope I'm never in that situation.

very interesting

I wouldn't mind having all the NBA players play in a different timezone than American. And I would welcome seeing games where fans go bananas.

Bonn1997 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Andrew wrote:I'm curious to see if this will actually happen. I haven't heard of the FIBA granting the NBA players clearance to sign contracts while still under contract with their NBA team.

This is from Netsdaily:

Besiktas would face several hurdles before it got even close to signing Williams. He would have obtain a clearance from FIBA, the international basketball federation, permitting him to play in Europe while still under contract with the Nets. If the Nets or NBA challenges that, the players union has said it will sue. Also, someone would have to pay the enormous insurance bill required to indemnify him against career ending injuries.

So an owner can force you to stop working without pay and can stop you from working for anyone else also? That seems inherently wrong. I hope I'm never in that situation.

I don't believe this to be the case at all. Stern is on record saying that if a lockout occurs the players can go elsewhere.

if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

tkf wrote:if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

The demand is higher in the NBA for a player like him. So the salary will be higher.

tkf wrote:if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

It might be because he can opt out of the deal as soon as the lockout is over.

tkf wrote:if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

Its pretty simple actually. In a big money league like the NBA where there is more money earned generally (throught TV-money, bigger fan bases etc.) players can ask for more. Which is what they do. And they will get payed accordingly. In smaller leagues like those in Europe where fans dont spend as much money and TV ratings are WAY lower the salaries are smaller.

Basically you will get what the market is willing to pay you.

dodger78 wrote:

tkf wrote:if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

Its pretty simple actually. In a big money league like the NBA where there is more money earned generally (throught TV-money, bigger fan bases etc.) players can ask for more. Which is what they do. And they will get payed accordingly. In smaller leagues like those in Europe where fans dont spend as much money and TV ratings are WAY lower the salaries are smaller.

Basically you will get what the market is willing to pay you.

so basically what you are saying is that this move pretty much proves the owners right..There is no where else to earn this type of money or anything close? to me, this works more in the owners favor..

Henry Abbott is suggesting guys line up contracts in europe now as they will be harder to get come August.

Deron Williams Reaches Deal to Play in Turkey
By HOWARD BECK
Published: July 7, 2011
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CloseLinkedinDiggMySpacePermalink Deron Williams, the Nets’ star point guard and one of the N.B.A.’s premier players, has an agreement to play in Turkey during the lockout.

“We confirm” the contract with Williams, said Ergin Ataman, the coach of the Turkish team Besiktas, in a telephone interview Thursday.

Ataman said that the deal should become official in the next 24 hours and that Besiktas’s president, Seref Yalcin, would join Williams for a news conference in the United States next week.

The news of Williams’s agreement was first reported by a Turkish television station, NTV Spor, and later confirmed by ESPN.com.

Williams, 27, is a two-time All-Star and one of the N.B.A.’s top point guards. He would be the biggest N.B.A. star ever to play overseas in his prime. Besiktas briefly employed Allen Iverson last season, after Iverson, 36, could no longer find a willing employer in the N.B.A.

Williams has two years and $34 million left on his contract with the Nets, with an option to terminate next summer. It is unclear what effect his playing for a European team might have on his Nets contract, although Commissioner David Stern has indicated that the league would not stand in the way of players going overseas during a lockout.

“If there’s a lockout, the players are free; their contracts are suspended,” Stern said during All-Star weekend in February. “It’s that simple.”

In general, the N.B.A. and FIBA have an arrangement that precludes teams in either organization from signing players already under contract. That agreement became moot on July 1, when the N.B.A.’s labor deal expired, and the league locked out its players.

But if Williams were injured while playing for Besiktas, it could risk nullification of his Nets contract, according to N.B.A. officials.

Williams is expected to report to Besiktas, which is based in Istanbul, on Sept. 1. The season there begins Sept. 27.

If the lockout is resolved, Williams would be free to break his contract and return to the N.B.A., Ataman said.

Ataman said Zaza Pachulia, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks, also has an agreement to play for Besiktas. And the club is not done recruiting locked-out N.B.A. players, he said.

“If there’s a possibility, we’ll talk with Kobe if he’d like to play in Europe with Deron and with other guys to play we can talk with him,” Ataman said. “If Kobe would like to play with us, we will also contact his agent and maybe with him.”

Pete Thamel contributed reporting.

tkf wrote:

dodger78 wrote:

tkf wrote:if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

Its pretty simple actually. In a big money league like the NBA where there is more money earned generally (throught TV-money, bigger fan bases etc.) players can ask for more. Which is what they do. And they will get payed accordingly. In smaller leagues like those in Europe where fans dont spend as much money and TV ratings are WAY lower the salaries are smaller.

Basically you will get what the market is willing to pay you.

so basically what you are saying is that this move pretty much proves the owners right..There is no where else to earn this type of money or anything close? to me, this works more in the owners favor..

Of course, there is nowhere near as much money to be earned!!! But on the other hand what product will the owners own and sale if the top players decide not to play on any NBA franchise?!

Bonn1997 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Andrew wrote:I'm curious to see if this will actually happen. I haven't heard of the FIBA granting the NBA players clearance to sign contracts while still under contract with their NBA team.

This is from Netsdaily:

Besiktas would face several hurdles before it got even close to signing Williams. He would have obtain a clearance from FIBA, the international basketball federation, permitting him to play in Europe while still under contract with the Nets. If the Nets or NBA challenges that, the players union has said it will sue. Also, someone would have to pay the enormous insurance bill required to indemnify him against career ending injuries.

So an owner can force you to stop working without pay and can stop you from working for anyone else also? That seems inherently wrong. I hope I'm never in that situation.

I VERY much doubt that is the case. This is not slavery. The owners are effectively in breach of contract when the players are not getting paid. I don't think they have any right to tell them what to do with their time.

dodger78 wrote:

tkf wrote:

dodger78 wrote:

tkf wrote:if deron will play for 2 mil a year, why should an NBA team pay him a max deal?

Its pretty simple actually. In a big money league like the NBA where there is more money earned generally (throught TV-money, bigger fan bases etc.) players can ask for more. Which is what they do. And they will get payed accordingly. In smaller leagues like those in Europe where fans dont spend as much money and TV ratings are WAY lower the salaries are smaller.

Basically you will get what the market is willing to pay you.

so basically what you are saying is that this move pretty much proves the owners right..There is no where else to earn this type of money or anything close? to me, this works more in the owners favor..

Of course, there is nowhere near as much money to be earned!!! But on the other hand what product will the owners own and sale if the top players decide not to play on any NBA franchise?!

By the way just to put things in perspective... in the German league the complete roster of Bayern Munich (which is a pretty wealthy club) doesnt exceed 7 mil Euros for next season. So this is split by 15 players!!!

This Deron Williams guy is full of surprises! Wow.

So in a few months will it be all the US folks asking our European & Asian UK contingient for streaming links so we can watch our favorite players at awkward times of the day or night?

This is huge news. If more NBA players go overseas the owners will have to start worrying for two reasons: (1) European basketball has grown considerably over the last 20 years and while the recession hurt those leagues, it is not unreasonable to assume that they while start to really challenge the NBA in the next 15 years for top talent. If there is a mass exodus of NBA players going to Europe that will only make it easier for future NBA players to see Europe as a solid option and it will make European teams go after NBA players even harder in the future. I think the NBA would like its status as the supreme basketball league to remain unchallenged for a few more decades and moves like this will not help in that cause; and (2) the main stick the owners have is that NBA players will run out of money. If a good percentage of the NBA players can get jobs in Europe, the players will not be as pressed to accept the owners' terms, and while there are some teams losing money, I think most teams make money or get other benefits from the NBA. If the players are willing to sit out the entire year, I think that really hurts the owners as much as the players and it will hopefully get the owners to move off of their stance and more toward the middle.

I think the players made the owners a fair offer, and are willing to give a little more. It is up to the owners to start making real concessions and to look to revenue-sharing as an additional means to help small market teams.

DrAlphaeus wrote:This Deron Williams guy is full of surprises! Wow.

So in a few months will it be all the US folks asking our European & Asian UK contingient for streaming links so we can watch our favorite players at awkward times of the day or night?

LOL!!!!!!!!! Havent thought about this!!!!! Love it!!!