New Jersey Nets' Deron Williams thinking about playing in Europe in case of lockout
Over the years, devastating point guard Deron Williams has predominantly made headlines because of his incredible plays that helped Utah Jazz and more recently the New Jersey Nets grasp many victories. However, this time D-Will
has made the captions because of his statement regarding Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). On Tuesday, Williams told media that he could think about playing in Europe, if National Basketball Association (NBA) failed to resolve the labour dispute over
new CBA.
William said, "I'm looking at some things. It's possible I could go overseas and find a contract there so I could resume play. I haven't looked anywhere in general. I'm just looking into the possibility of playing over there. But
I'm not going to make a decision until after the CBA."
Williams seems to be following a trend that was set in 2004, when the National Hockey League locked-out its players after which almost 400 NHL players went overseas to participate in the foreign leagues.
Williams’ contract with the Nets is going to expire in 2013, but he has the option to opt out of the contract in his last year and can register himself as a free agent by July 2012. However, there is a possibility that the Nets
can offer Williams a contract extension this summer. What they cannot do though is to offer him the indenture before the NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires, which is going to end on June 30.
NBA’s Commissioner David Stern has already made it clear to the players that if the new CBA is not reached, then owners can lock-out the players. This will halt all business, until a new CBA will be decided.
The Nets’ management refused to comment on the lock-out issue or any other related topic as the franchises are forbidden from expressing any views in this regard.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank told that if the owners lock-out their players after the expiry of old CBA, the players become eligible and free to join any team, outside USA. Williams joined the Nets as a result of a trade deadline in
February this year. The 6 ft 3 veteran is a complete package and is one of the best point-guards in the league.
Williams participated in only 12 games from the Nets since the trade. During his period with them he scored with an average of 15 points per game and wracked assists with a healthy percentage of 12.8 in each game.
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