As one of the resident hockey fans here, the NHL saw a minor exodus to Europe in each lockout (1994 and 2004). The situations aren't entirely comparable, since a good chunk of the NHL's player population and star population are from Europe originally, but there were some interesting issues. Several Swedish players announced that they were going to play in front of their home country, only to hold off until late in the calendar year to skirt Sweden's draconian tax laws. There were also cases where certain players were barred from being able to sign in certain countries due to criminal histories.
If Damon Stoudamire plays overseas, I can foresee an NBA version of "The Midnight Express" taking place.