Finding a safe haven from the NBA lockout, New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams made a memorable debut Sunday with the Turkish team Besiktas.
Williams scored 11 points and had five assists in leading the Istanbul-based club to a 107-69 win over Bandirma Kirmizi.
Joining Williams in his first game with Besiktas was Cleveland Cavaliers forward Semih Erden, who registered 13 points and 8 rebounds in a return to his home turf.
Williams’s signing with the elite European club is a sign of what may come as NBA owners and players struggle to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. Overseas teams such as Besiktas are taking advantage of the labor strife to sign NBA players.
The Istanbul-based Turkish club signed Allen Iverson last year before he returned to the U.S. for calf surgery.
This report has information obtained from the Associated Press.
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(Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)