D-Will To sign with Besiktas Cola Turka of Istanbul
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A report from Turkish television early Wednesday said Deron Williams will soon sign with , the same club that signed and then dropped Allen Iverson last season. Marc Stein and the New York Times both confirmed the report later Wednesday. No word yet from Williams or his Facebook page.
Ken Berger reports that the Nets were unaware of Besiktas' offer. Williams had said before the lockout that he might be interested in playing overseas if negotiations to achieve a new CBA failed. ESPN reported D-Will will be paid $5 million and will be free to rejoin the Nets once the lockout ended. He'll also be provided a personal assistant, driver and security guard available 24/7 and be won't have to report to Besiktas until August or September.
Besiktas' coach, Ergin Ataman, was quoted by NTV Spor as saying, "We are in talks with Williams. He is a bigger star than Iverson and would be the best player in Europe.We are are close to an agreement." According to the coach, the team is also close to agreeing in principle with Zaza Pachulia. A team official later tweeted in Turkish that "Deron Williams has agreed" while another confirmed Pachulia has indeed agreed to sign as well.
Besiktas is viewed as a lower level Turkish team. It plays in the Turkish league but not the Euroleague. Its signing of Iverson was seen as a way of bumping up its profile in Europe. Bojan Bogdanovic, the Nets second round pick, will play in Turkey this season for Fenerbahce, the country's top team.
Williams will have to 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, there is the question of insurance: who will pay the premium required to indemnify him against career ending injuries.
Re: D-Will To sign with Besiktas Cola Turka of Istanbul
Turkish team Besiktas says it is close to reaching a deal with locked out NBA All-Star guard Deron Williams. Besiktas manager Murat Murtezaoglu said talks are under way with the New Jersey Nets player and U.S. Olympian. Coach Ergin Ataman told the state-run Anatolia news agency that a deal was close. He also told The New York Times that an agreement had been reached. Jeff Schwartz, Williams' agent, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. AP
Williams, who the Nets acquired in February in a stunning deal with Utah, was supposed to earn $16.36 million with New Jersey next season. His performance with New Jersey was hindered by a wrist injury that required surgery. It is uncertain how his contract with the Nets would be affected if he were hurt playing for another team. AP
Re: D-Will To sign with Besiktas Cola Turka of Istanbul
now it seems the turkish club commit some kind of violation, is under penalties, and will have trouble attracting other NBA players to play alongside d-will. possibly even he won't be able to play for them at all (my interpretation).
i mean, true... i have mixed feelings about the whole thing as is. but that's some shitty luck right there.
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Originally Posted by Nets fan 93
You're free to make one if you want.
if you or wang or someone else is willing to put some time in to sharing their opinions, i'm game. i don't want it to be just me banging away.
D-Will To sign with Besiktas Cola Turka of Istanbul
