Deron Williams will play in Turkey if lockout continues

A. Isaac Senior Editor

Deron Williams 309x207 Deron Williams will play in Turkey if lockout continues

One of the NBA’s brightest young stars, Deron Williams, will play in Turkey if the lockout continues into September. The New Jersey Nets point guard has agreed in principle to a deal with Turkish club Besiktas.

The agreement was confirmed by Misko Raznatovic, a European agent who works with Jeff Schwartz, the Los Angeles-based agent who represents Williams. Ataman and Raznatovic first met last month in Istanbul.

Reports have pegged Williams’s salary between $200,000 and $350,000 a month, or $2 million to $3.5 million for the 10-month Turkish league season. Raznatovic said that Williams, 27, would get between $1 million and $5 million, plus a car, housing and the tax breaks associated with playing overseas. He will also be provided with a security guard, driver and personal assistant, all of them available 24 hours a day. Ataman later told SI.com that Williams’s deal would be paid for by a sponsor.

The NBA and its owners may want to look at this deal very closely. If the European leagues can offer Williams that kind of package, the incentive for players in the union to make a deal in the long run is considerably diminished.

My guess is that in the coming weeks, several players will try to hit it big with overseas contracts before the sponsor coffers dry up. Should the NBA lose a marquee player like a Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Dwight Howard, we might very well see negotiations heat up. Or at least, let’s hope.

Nets Star Has Deal to Play in Turkey [NY Times]

What'd you think of this?

Cast My Vote

Other Stories You Might LIke

comment on this story

blog comments powered by Disqus