THE EXODUS BEGINS

With the current lockout, NBA players have started to look elsewhere for temporary employment. The lockout means that all players in the league have stopped receiving their salaries effective last July 1. The first marquee player to move out is Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets. Williams has reportedly inked a one-year deal worth $5-M with Besiktas of the Turkish pro league. Besiktas is the same club in which Allen Iverson played for last season. Williams is actually the sixth NBA player who had signed contracts to play in the lucrative European circuit during the last few weeks. The first five were David Andersen of the New Orleans Hornets with Montepaschi Siena (Italy), Hilton Armstrong of the Atlanta Hawks with ASVEL Villeurbanne (France), Nenad Krstic of the Boston Celtics with CSKA Moscow (Russia), Mustafa Shakur of the Washington Wizards with Pau Orthez (France), and DaJuan Summers of the Detroit Pistons with Montepaschi Siena (Italy). According to Hoopshype, more are expected to jump ship within the next few weeks and months and the list may include other star players like Kobe Bryant (to Italy), Paul Gasol (to either Spain or China), Al Horford (to Italy), and 2011 NBA finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki (to Germany or Greece), to name few.