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By: Bill Ingram / HOOPSWORLD
When the NBA last locked out its players there weren't many options for those players in terms of other places to take their services. The NBA has long been the absolute world class league for the best players on the planet, and while playing overseas has always been an option, it hasn't always been an attractive one.
But times have certainly changed since 1998, the last time the NBA and its players reached an impasse.
Since 1998 the game of basketball has gone global in a major way. Players like Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, China's Yao Ming, Argentina's Manu Ginobili, Spain's Pau Gasol and Puerto Rico's JJ Barea (among many, many others) have young kids around the world putting down the soccer ball in favor of a basketball. In response, professional teams all over Europe and South America have begun erecting world class arenas and even have dreams of one day joining the NBA.
In this climate, it makes more sense than ever for locked out NBA players to consider playing overseas. The arenas are there, the fan interest is even more intense than it is in most NBA cities, and foreign team owners would love to have world-class NBA athletes join their teams.
This is the background of today's big story, that New Jersey Nets All-Star point guard Deron Williams has reached an agreement in principle to play for Besiktas in Turkey should he find himself locked out next season.
It's a great move for Williams, and one that could have repercussions for his colleagues around the league as players start to think about how they might continue to get paid for playing basketball while the NBA is on hiatus. One of the biggest issues facing the players as they battle with NBA owners for the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement is the fact that once they money runs out in mid-November (when players stop receiving checks), owners will have the upper hand. Most players live paycheck to paycheck, and once the last check has been cashed they're going to be desperate to get another fix.
That's not exactly a strong position from which to bargain, something NBA owners are absolutely counting on.
Still, playing overseas is not a solution that will be available to all NBA players. The more players who decide to explore their options in Europe, the most competitive those few openings will become. European teams can't afford to sign an entire team of NBA players, and they won't be paying anything like what those players currently earn in the NBA. Players might also balk at the conditions in FIBA play, which are far below the red carpet, silver spoon conditions in which those players live now.
Let's be clear - the threat of playing overseas is not one that will give NBA players a clear advantage in their ongoing labor fight with the league's owners. There aren't enough jobs open, and the money isn't close to being NBA money - even at the reduced rate owners are currently pursuing. If, however, we see a number of big-name players like Williams reach agreements to play in Europe, it will put additional pressure on the owners of their specific teams. Anyone who believes Mikhail Prokhorov wants to see his star player competing and possibly getting injured in the very physical Euroleague game has another think coming. Owners whose players opt to sign overseas will have a little more motivation to get a deal done, and that's a good thing.
Deron Williams is the first NBA player to commit to playing overseas in the event of a lockout, but he almost certainly won't be the last. Unlike in 1998, playing in Europe is a very appealing option for locked out NBA players, even if it is a significant step down from NBA life. Committing to play overseas will also give the players a way to put additional pressure on NBA owners, and considering the many ways in which owners have the upper hand in these negotiations, the players need every advantage they can possibly get.
2003 
