New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams is planning to play in Turkey in the fall if the NBA lockout has not yet been settled, according to sources with knowledge of Williams' thinking.
Sources on Thursday confirmed a report from the Turkey-based sports outlet NTV Spor that Williams has struck an agreement in principal to play for Besiktas, which is the club that briefly employed Allen Iverson last season.
Sources say Williams will not be required to report to the Turkish club before the end of August or early September and that his deal with them will include an immediate out that allows him to return to the NBA as soon as the work stoppage ends.
Williams has two years left on his contract with the Nets but is expected to opt out the final season, valued at nearly $18 million, to become a free agent in the summer of 2012.
Players under contract like Williams would typically need a letter of clearance from FIBA -- the sport's world governing body -- to play anywhere else.
But the NBA Players Association has privately maintained for months that it intends to legally challenge any attempt by the NBA or FIBA to block a player such as Williams from playing elsewhere while the NBA has imposed a work stoppage.
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