Tony Parker and Deron Williams lead NBA returnees from Europe
New Jersey Nets super star Deron Williams and San Antonio Spurs Frenchman Tony Park are the most prominent among a host of NBA players returning to the United States from Europe. Parker, Williams and many other NBA players had
jumped onto the European stage due to the NBA lockout and are set to return as a tentative deal to save the season has been agreed.
The dispute over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement threatened to wipe out the complete NBA season and did indeed result in the cancellation of training camps, preseason and a month and a half worth of the regular season.
Stars such as Deron Williams saw no value in sitting around to wait for the NBA labour dispute to end and therefore decided to continue playing competitive basketball elsewhere. Williams joined ambitious Turkish outfit Besiktas,
who also tried to sign Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant and held discussions with Los Angeles Lakers man Kobe Bryant.
Williams set the Turkish league alight with his displays after a tumultuous start to his time in Europe. He scored 50 points in a game last week to help Besiktas to victory, a game that also proved to be his last in Turkey. He
will be leaving for the USA soon.
"My last game for Besiktas was last Friday," Williams tweeted. "I will be at the game tomorrow (Tuesday) but just to watch and support the guys! It was a fun 3 months."
Tony Parker had joined ASVEL in France, of whom he is a vice president and part-owner. He played a total of eight games for the club, the last of whom was an 80-74 victory at Strasbourg on Saturday.
"We finished with a victory and that's what I wanted," Parker said in a posting on the FIBA website. "I want to thank France, ASVEL, my family and my fans for the eight games I played here."
Ronny Turiaf joined Parker in the move from the NBA to ASVEL, and he too will now be returning to the USA.
"We tried to develop basketball in France," Parker said. "It's time for my teammates to play without Ronny and me."
Parker is set to receive a chilly reception from the San Antonio faithful upon his return after some ill-advised comments he made in the summer.
Other prominent players returning from Europe include Italy's Danilo Gallinari, who will return to the Denver Nuggets after a brief outing with Olimpia Milano while Rudy Fernandez will soon depart for the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks,
saying farewell to Real Madrid.
Serge Ibaka, who represented Spain in a successful EuroBasket tournament, will return to the Oklahoma City Thunders and Tiago Splitter returns after a stay at Valencia.
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