Locked out of NBA, Williams, Pachulia heading overseas; who is next?

Deron Williams, and maybe Zaza Pachulia, are taking their talents to Turkey. Will this migration just be the start? (Photo: REUTERS/Eddie Keogh)

Playing pick-up basketball and hitting the weight room during the NBA’s lockout isn’t atop the list of many of the league’s best players. They want to play organized ball and get paid. Where better to do this than overseas?

New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams and Atlanta Hawks power forward Zaza Pachulia are in the midst of starting a trend, taking a route that should be immensely popular considering how far apart the players and owners are to an agreement.

Besiktas of the Turkish League, the team that signed Allen Iverson last season, has reportedly reached an agreement with Williams and Pachulia. Besiktas isn’t about to stop there, as they are also hoping to get Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant to join them.

Bryant may be a longshot, but the decisions by Williams and Pachulia create a win-win situation for everyone involved. The fans get to see stars play for their team. The team gets exponentially better, more exposure, and more revenue. The players get to showcase their talents and get more exposure in a different setting. And when the lockout is over they will be free to return to their NBA teams. It all makes perfect sense.

Pachulia’s deal has not been completed, but Besiktas’ head coach Ergin Ataman confirmed Williams’ signing in a telephone interview Thursday, according to the New York Times. The paper writes:

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“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.”

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When Iverson was signed to a deal, which was terminated soon after due to a calf injury, he was 36 and surprisingly out of the NBA. Iverson could still play, and, judging by his reception in Turkey, he would have been treated like a God. Williams will certainly get the same attention, as would others tempted by the opportunity to go abroad.

A potential migration may hurt the NBA, but the league’s management deserves it. This past season was immensely popular, and the playoffs was one of the highest rated in recent memory, but commissioner David Stern had a unforgivable hand in the work stoppage that halted a great deal of momentum.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Baron Davis is taking classes at UCLA, and is playing basketball on its campus today. Others are playing in gyms in their hometowns and elsewhere. Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum is taking up boxing. Some joked on Twitter about what their profession should be during the lockout. What has forced all of this is bad for the fans, for the players, for the employees who work in all 30 arenas, and for front offices.

It may be a while before an agreement is made between the players and owners, so Williams and Pachulia should look to buy houses instead of rent. Writes Sameer Buchar of the Daily Texan: “Basketball team owners want a salary cap, “revenue sharing” and the ability to let players go who underperform. Players on the other hand, want to increase their stake on the team’s pay roll, and neither side is budging.“

Williams and Pachulia aren’t wasting any time. They want to play, not wait until an agreement is made. There may be some rough patches adjusting to a different part of the world with a new style of play and a new fan base, but it would be stunning if others don’t follow. And if their leaving the States has a domino effect surely Besiktas will one of the teams courting interested players, hoping to woo the next star across the pond.