Tweeting as if he were leaving bread crumbs across the face of Europe, Billy King arrived in Izmir Saturday afternoon for Deron Williams' first away game in the Turkish League.
On Friday, he tweeted that he was on board a Turkish Airlines flight, then Saturday morning, he posted a picture of the Bosporus, that waterway separating Europe and Asia in Istanbul, before finally announcing that Izmir "is a beautiful city".
Alas, just before the game between Besiktas and Pinar Karsiyaka SK was set to begin, the Nets GM had to tweet bad news: "2 mins to tip off someone breaks the backboard". King's image showed a good home crowd at the Izmir sports arena.
No problem. Williams had his best game since heading to Europe. He scored 24 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed four rebounds as Besiktas won, 100-93, in hard-fought game, their fifth straight win. Under league rules, King can watch Williams but can have no contact with him. Mikhail Prokhorov, who has investments in Izmir, did not make the trip.
King's post-game comment: "Saw some good young talent. Back to Istanbul". As for D-Will, he made only the most subtle of references, thanking "all the Besiktas fans at the game."
- TBF Live Stats - Pinar Karsiyaka vs. Besiktas - Turkish Basketball Federation
- Boxscore - Turkish Basketball League
- Beşiktaş Milangaz 100, Pınar Karşıyaka 93 - Besiktas
- Nets GM Billy King takes trip to see locked-out Deron Williams play in Turkey - Matt Moore - NBC Sports
- Turkish Deron Williams Finally Plays Like American Deron Williams - Nick Gibson - EuroAdventures
- Nets GM Attended Deron Williams’ Game in Turkey - SLAM
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Nets GM Billy King taking in Deron Williams' games in Turkey - Sporting News