Basketball players leave America during NBA lockout

Many basketball players have gone overseas to compete, and earn. Because there are no games in the NBA right now.

These players who come from North America are continuing to play their trade, NBA lockout be damned.

Players are going to the countries which are so far away from America, such as China.

A couple have decided to go to the basketball hotbed of Lithuania, where the sport is like religion.TaylorMade Rescue Hybrid
Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets and Sonny Weems of the Toronto Raptors have ended up on the same team, with Zalgiris Kaunas.

"I had heard that the Lithuanians were crazy about basketball," Weems said.

"After arriving here, I'm convinced.

"I can safely say: Lithuania - basketball country. Everyone here knows this game."Taylormade burner 09 driver
While playing for Zalgiris, Lawson and Weems will get to experience the Euroleague.

Three of Lawson's Nuggets teammates have gone to the Far East.

Wilson Chandler is on the books of Zeijiang Guangsha, Kenyon Martin is grabbing rebounds and dunking for Xinjiang and JR Smith is shooting three-pointers for Zhejiang.

Also in China are New Jersey's Dan Gadzuric (Jiangsu) and Atlanta's Josh Powell (Liaoning).

Many of the NBA's players that hail from abroad have decided to go back home to play.

In Australia, Portland's Pat Mills has joined the Melbourne Tigers.

Mills will play for the Boomers next year at the London Games.TaylorMade Burner SuperFast Fairway Woods
In Russia, 10-year NBA veteran Andrei Kirilenko returned to Moscow and signed a three-year contract with his former club, CSKA, this week with an NBA return option.

Kirilenko has announced that all of his earnings in Russia will go to his charity.

Denver's Timofey Mozgov, who with Kirilenko won a bronze medal at the EuroBasket in Lithuania to remain in the hunt for the Olympics, has also gone back to his old team, BC Khimki.

In France, 24 hours after Kirilenko's announcement, San Antonio's Tony Parker this week decided to play for ASVEL Basket.

The point guard has been a vice president and shareholder with ASVEL since 2009.

He is playing for the French minimum wage of 1500 Euros per month and has also paid his own insurance.

His fellow silver-medal winners from the EuroBasket, Charlotte's Boris Diaw and Portland's Nicolas Batum, have joined Pro B side Bordeaux and Pro A side SLUC Nancy, respectively.

France national team coach Vincent Collet had said before the EuroBasket, young center Kevin Seraphin would have benefitted from a year of Euroleague basketball before leaving for the NBA's Washington Wizards.

After playing at the EuroBasket, Seraphin will now get that chance of Euroleague ball because he has joined Caja Laboral in Spain.

He's not the only player locked out in America now in Vitoria, with Toronto's Joey Dorsey and Golden State's Reggie Williams also there.

Rudy Fernandez, who was traded by Portland to Dallas this summer, is back in Spain after penning a deal with Real Madrid.

Spain national team duo Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers) and his brother Marc (Memphis) have been working out with Barcelona but have not signed for the team.

Montenegro captain Nikola Pekovic has returned to former club Partizan Belgrade, Italy's Denver Nugget, Danilo Gallinari, is back home playing for his old team, Olimpia Milano, while in Turkey, Semih Erden is going to play for Besiktas, Mehmet Okur with Turk Telekom and Ersan Ilyasova with Efes.

Also in Turkey is Deron Williams.

He played for Besiktas in their Eurocup Qualifying Round tie but the Istanbul club lost over two legs.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant has been strongly linked with Virtus Bologna but has yet to sign a contract.