New Jersey Nets star Deron Williams not scared about playing in Turkey – NBA Update
Deron Williams stated in a recent interview that he was very much looking forward to playing in Turkey next season. He dismissed suggestions that he had something to fear given recent questions raised over the wisdom of his decision
to go and play abroad by many quarters in the NBA world.
Deron Williams is contracted to the New Jersey Nets in the NBA and is the biggest star on the team. Furthermore he is a huge name in the NBA and one of the best point guards playing at present in the world. So when he declared
that he will be playing for Turkish club Besiktas next season because the NBA lockout threatened work in the NBA, it created huge waves in the basketball world.
Since Williams’s decision a number of NBA players have followed suit and signed with foreign teams, however he does still remain the most high profile case. Recently many sceptics have surfaced citing various drawbacks of making
such a move. They have pointed to factors such as risking injuries and therefore losing NBA contracts, unstable ownerships and volatile fan bases as negative aspects of such moves.
Some have even pointed to the shaky record of European teams in terms of paying up the players, at least on time. However Deron Williams remains unfazed despite hearing all the critics.
"That doesn't scare me. I saw that Rick Reilly interview -- that doesn't scare me," Williams said. "I don't think my situation is going to be similar to some of those guys' situations, for one. I've met the president, I've met
the GM, I've met a lot of the guys in the organization. They're pretty much pulling out all of the stops for me. ... I talked to (Mehmet Okur) about it, he's probably going to be over there part of the time while I'm over there, so that'll be good. Ninety-five
percent of the people I've talked to about Turkey have good things to say about Turkey."
The New Jersey star does have a point. Besiktas do not seem like the type of club to cause trouble. Allen Iverson played for them last season and he has only spoken in glowing terms about the experience. The club have gotten embroiled
in a football match fixing scandal but that should not affect Deron’s contract.
Besiktas have even held negotiations to try and bring Los Angeles Lakers super star guard Kobe Bryant to Turkey to pair him up with Williams in the backcourt, but those efforts have ultimately proved fruitless. It is rumoured that
they are currently courting Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant.
Whatever happens, Williams is sure to turn up for the team when the season begins.
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