Turkey’s Besiktas Retires Deron Williams’ Jersey

With the NBA lockout seemingly in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for all those NBA players that left to play ball overseas to return to their respective NBA cities. Well, all except for JR Smith, Wilson Chandler Kenyon Martin and Aaron Brooks, apparently. One guy who will be making his way back home with more than just some extra cash is New Jersey Nets’ Deron Williams. The All-Star guard will also be bringing his now retired Turkish jersey. Yes, that’s right. All it took were 15 games for Williams to have his jersey retired. From USA Today: “Clearly, the bar for basketball greatness isn’t set too high in Turkey. The farwell party today for Deron Williams proved that today, as his Besiktas team retired his No. 8 jersey after 15 games. Seriously, 15 games. Deadspin says Williams was good for averages of 21.8 points and 6.5 assists during his stay in Istanbul, which has come to an end with the NBA lockout settled. Give the New Jersey Nets’ guard credit for realizing there wouldn’t be a quick fix for the lockout, and signing on to play in Turkey way back in July. He blogged about the experience for ESPN.com, and wrote that there wasn’t much culture shock, and that nearly everyone on the team and coaching staff spoke English. But just think. If the lockout had lasted another month or so, he probably would have been headed to Turkey’s Hall of Fame.”