Thunder's Thabo Sefolosha agrees to deal with Turkish club

“I don't think that he will face the same adjustment that a lot of big name American players are,” Zucker said. “His adjustment period will be significantly shorter than it would be for someone who has never played in Europe before.”

Byron Mullens became the first Thunder player to circumvent the lockout by signing overseas. But the 7-foot center returned to the states after less than a month in Greece playing for Panionios. Mullens said he “felt out of the loop not being here with my team.”

Starting power forward Serge Ibaka, according to one report, is now interested in signing overseas and playing immediately. But Ibaka, who helped the Spanish national team win the gold medal at the European Championship last month and played a season in Spain before joining the Thunder, has experience competing overseas.

The growing interest in making the leap across the Atlantic, however, perhaps is a telling sign of where players think negotiations with league owners stand.

“The latest update about the lockout, let's put it this way, it gave us no reason to pause,” Zucker said of Sefolosha's decision. “In the past, there would have been a reason to pause. What's been happening lately has shown us that this could pretty much go anywhere because I think we've hit the danger territory where anything is possible.”