Homeward Bound: Kobe Bryant Inches Closer To Playing In Italy
Kobe Bryant (photo. Chris Sembrot)
How does $1.5 million over 10 games sound? Pretty good? Yea we think so. Well that’s the latest offer on the table for Kobe Bryant. According to the Associated Press, Virtus Bologna, an Italian club, has now offered Kobe $2.5 million over a span of 40 days (10 games). After taxes, the offer stands at $1.5 million. According to Kobe, it’s “a dream come true.” The deal would extend from October 9th to November 16th, including an “out” clause which would allow Kobe to return to the NBA if and when the lockout ends. The 33-year-old Bryant told ESPN that Italy is his home, where he learned to shoot a basketball. He went on to say that he doesn’t know what’s going to happen these next three months, but that Italy will always be in his heart. How nice. In our opinion, if Kobe was actually going to play overseas, he would have already left. The longer the offer sits on the table, the less likely it’s going to be accepted. At the same time, Kobe loves to make money and loves playing ball. He says it’s “very possible” he plays overseas. He knows what’s out there, and he’s smarter than 95 percent of the NBA players who are looking into all this. But let’s look at this from a different angle. Maybe it’s good for Kobe to get an extended rest. At 33 years of age and 15 years of NBA mileage, it’s not like rest would be a bad thing for the guy. Maybe the rest will rejuvenate the Black Mamba. What do you guys think? … Celtic fans will love this … According to the Sun-Sentinel, Dwyane Wade is “committed to LeBron.” Wade told the Sentinel that all he and LeBron want to do is work, that they want to do everything in their power to make sure what they have now works. Wade also stated in his SportsCenter interview that he and James are “married together” for the next five years. Glad to see these two are getting along. Next step is adding pieces. Or a reality show. The Finals last year were a perfect example of why you can’t win a championship with just five players. You need eight-to-nine dependable players and last year, the Mavs did. Maybe Miami will go after Shane Battier. His name has been thrown around. He’d provide them with experience, leadership, and the ability to do all the little things. Does this move make perfect sense or are we imagining things? You can never have enough of those little thing do-ers … Yesterday we brought you the 10 best assists of all-time in the NBA. Did we get it right? … Here’s the best Bruce Bowen antidote we’ve ever heard. Read this if you want to laugh … David Stern addressed the media after Wednesday’s meeting, saying the owners are not near a deal with the players. Stern also noted that a “larger-scale” meeting has been scheduled for this Friday with as many as 15 owners showing up and a number of big-time NBA players. “Let’s get the two committees in and see whether they can either have a season or not have a season,” Stern told the media. “And that’s what’s at risk.” Pretty scary stuff if you ask us. Basically, S— IS ABOUT TO GET REAL!!! No more games. No more canceling meetings. No more going around in circles. Not preparing for negotiations. Coming into meetings unaware of the current situations. Not being educated on the current problems. NO MORE! We want a season and we want it now! To NBA fans everywhere: when you crawl into bed tonight, say a quick little prayer for the league and this Friday meeting. Please …. Some good news is surfacing though. The owners are willing to back off their hard cap idea, basically the main thing that has been hindering a deal for the past two years or so. That’s huge. And Stern also showed his sense of humor, telling reporters after a meeting this week that “Both teams played hard and the calendar is not our friend.” Oh Rasheed, where art thou? … The Los Angeles Times talked to an official from NBA 2K12 and answered many of your questions about the overall rankings, saying Kobe is lower than ‘Bron and Wade because of his age, and that Amar’e is ranked above Pau Gasol because his season was more dominant. Most importantly, they said Dirk is only an 85 and the weakest of those three big guys because he’s so weak defensively … And NBA 2K12 released another Developer Insight, this one on the presentation. We have to say one of the cooler things in this entire game is how the presentation is made to fit each period of NBA basketball. But something we didn’t know is that camera angles will be slightly altered in each NBA arena to make it more realistic. No two arenas have their TV cameras in the same exact spot … We’re out like Tom Brady‘s hair.
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September 29th, 2011 at 12:26 am
BRUCE says:
Wade also stated Lebron needs to be confident on his abilities. Pretty much sums up Lebron mental state of mind.
September 29th, 2011 at 12:37 am
beiber newz says:
cam’ron at walgreens if u haven’t already seen this (big booty in public) video. http://www.missinfo.tv/index.php/camrons-x-rated-walgreens-adventure-nsfw-video-omg/
September 29th, 2011 at 12:40 am
Cha-Ching says:
Laker fans don’t want Kobe to play. Save them knees. Fix them fingers please. Kobe is going to do whatever. He loves running a fine line between yes & no. I say no since I heard the team sucks. Kobe would retire before he plays on a non-contender.
Wade is saying the shit you suppose to say. You think Pat Riley don’t want at least 2 rings before his creation runs its time. No team has had two players in their prime at this magnitude on its roster in a minute. No rings will be an embarrassment to the franchise.
Out like the Red Sox hoping the Yanks would put them in the playoffs.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:25 am
beiber newz says:
red sox………quite embarrassing indeed.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:30 am
beiber newz says:
at least the sox made history…
September 29th, 2011 at 3:17 am
yoda says:
so, with saying he’s married to lbj, does wade thinks that bosh is expandable? all that talking about bron must’ve made bosh pissed off.
September 29th, 2011 at 3:49 am
bigbeans says:
I think that Dimemag is really giving a poor impression on the lockout and its specifics. Especially with the Black VS White that was just absurd. I think that Dime, being a basketball magazine that many fans including myself enjoy and listen too, should take a more active role in exposing to the fans the folly of the players. Unions were created back in the 19th and 20th century because a company would underpay its workers. People needed work and they needed it bad enough they would work for basically slave wages. THAT WAS WHEN UNIONS WERE NECESSARY. NBA players will always make more money than 95% of the worlds population. They do not need a union. NBA players will always make multi-million dollars. They are sacraficing a season because they want a bigger piece of a pie they did not bake. When someone founds a team or a league they invested lots of money to make it work. NBA players do not invest money they only MAKE money millions of dollars worth of money. Do not forget without the owners and the money for the stadiums and the contracts there would be no need for the players. The players did not create the league, they contribute to it making money, but thats why they make millions of dollars. We are losing a season because of their selfishness as I pointed out the creation of Unions does not apply to NBA players because they are not taken advantage of AT ALL. In fact they are so greedy that they take away from the people who in fact PAY them. WE PAY THEM WE THE FANS BUY TICKETS MERCHENDISE and yet they take from us because they are so selfish they want even more. They have no right to more, they bring in the fans, but they wouldnt be able to bring in fans without the stage that the OWNERS provided. And as I said multi-millions. Dime you really should portray the selfishness of the players and how they are taking from us. Back in the day Unions bargained for minimum wage for LIVABLE wages those people were heros. These people want ROLLS ROYCES instad of caddys its capitalism which is fine but Dime you take the side of the selfish people that are going to destroy all those winter nights when I don’t have anything to do but get drunk and watch a double header. IM GOING TO LOSE THAT BECAUSE THEY DON’T GET AN EXTRA 0 ON THEIR CHECK?
September 29th, 2011 at 5:13 am
Recommendator says:
New Pic of Kobe Bryant in Milan:
http://www.nbadunks.org/kobe-bryant-in-milan-italy/
September 29th, 2011 at 5:44 am
WR says:
@bigbeans: Amen to that.
Finally someone got it all right together.
September 29th, 2011 at 6:22 am
K Dizzle says:
@ BigBeans – great post
I got more important things in my life to pray for than whether millionaires and billionaires can find a better way to split up my hard earned money. Basketball is bigger than the NBA…
September 29th, 2011 at 8:17 am
JAY says:
“No two arenas have their TV cameras in the same exact spot”
^ boss
“Dwyane Wade is “committed to LeBron.”
^ Where is Chris Bosh? He’s been M.I.A. in MIA the whole summer.
September 29th, 2011 at 8:58 am
Chicagorilla says:
@Big beans
If you think the most important part of the NBA is the owners and not the players, then you are sadly mistaken my friend. What you’re condoning is the same shit that has nearly ruined the music industry. Instead of letting the musicians decide what fans are going to hear, the big wigs within each label has decided to go with the cookie cutter idea because it helps the label to make more money while taking even more money out of the pockets of the real artist.
The players aren’t asking for a bigger piece of the pie…THE OWNERS ARE! The players are just fine at how the NBA is being run because it benefits them the most. Which is HOW IT SHOULD BE since they are the creators and innovators that drive the sales.
The owners are middle men. They should take their cut and STFU. But like all business’s around America, they are seeing how they can raise profits by fucking over the people who actually do all the work.
The funny thing is, if this were happening to any of you at your jobs, i highly fucking doubt you’ll be siding with your boss. Saying that he needs to make more money than the entire office combined (owners want 57% of the profits to go to them) because its his business. THE ENTIRE OFFICE COMBINED….
The players making more than 95% of the worlds population has what exactly to do with this convo? That just seems like a line to get people on your side.
Then you use phrases like “These people”….wtf?
Guess what Steve Nash and Tim duncan make tons of money and they don’t drive Rolls Royces. Hell Steve Nash even rides his skateboard to the stadium sometimes.
You say the players are “taking from us the fans”….so what are the owners doing exactly? They are the other half of this lockout. The players didn’t want anything to change in the CBA once the season ended, so they did not initiate this lockout. The owners were the ones who kicked it off because they saw EVERY OTHER business in the US getting away with murder and wanted to pull the same BS.
The NBA just had two of their best seasons in recent memory, yet they are claiming broke?
Im not 100% behind the players as far as the CBA goes, but I know damn well who entertains me. The players have been putting on summer league showcases all across the US this summer, selling out stadiums and gyms. That right there proves that they are the product, they don’t need the owners…the OWNERS NEED THEM.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Patrick says:
At this point there is no reason for the players to settle. There are enough overseas leagues that all the NBA level guys can make a good living. If communications break down for more than a year some of the more powerful agents could probably create a new startup league.
I still think the model that the players want, and the share of revenues they are seeking, will sink the NBA without profit sharing. If they do share profits in order to pay players I don’t feel like collective bargaining is an option that the players should have under the NLRA. But…the current state of America favors entertainment over production, so the players hold all the cards. Go get that money.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Patrick says:
That being said the season isn’t supposed to start for a month, and it is rare for a negotiation of a work stoppage to end until butted up against a time deadline. We still have a chance of a season.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Chicagorilla says:
@DIME
I saw that Sweeny said he is working on other top ten list. I hope one of them includes greatest moves or dribble moves.
This http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQezUdlaIfM
crossover by Allen Iverson on Antonio Daniels is one of my favorite all time moves. He crosses him and drops him the first time, then as Antonio is getting up, AI crosses him again like “sit yo ass down i said” and drops him AGAIN! Iverson basically made Antonio breakdance on the floor in the middle of a game lmao. Damn.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:36 am
That's What's Up says:
I like the BigBeanOrilla posts.
Kobe, play in Italy but you have to leave the fam at home.
You will never be able to say no to what you are about to be offered on the daily
September 29th, 2011 at 10:11 am
yoda says:
@ Chicagorilla
you are forgetting one thing: owners have to pay for the coach, for the training staff, for the training facilities, for security, for marketing, for every thing in the nba. players only have to come and play. if owners are taking financial losses, players don’t care. they get full contract. if team is loosing, players still get every penny. i know both sides are bitching, but i think there is no way that money earned should be split 50-50 or close. owners are those with all expenses, they are ones taking risk, they are one who will lose money if team plays bad, they are the ones who have to pay for jerome james’s and curry and stuff like that. so, players should back down a bit
September 29th, 2011 at 10:15 am
SwissArmyKnife5 says:
@Chicagorilla Your post is on point bro the owners are the major blame.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:19 am
First & Foremost says:
@Jay – Dude recently got married, it is chill mode for him.
————-
I respectfully disagree with you big beans. For the most part your whole post is that the players aren’t the reason the league is what it is. At least that is how I read it. They should take whatever the owners offer or else the fans will suffer and since the fans pay premium dollar to fund the league, the players need to stop complaining. Take wealth out of the equation. What if your boss said your entire office must take a pay cut and for the next decade you all MIGHT receive a raise. However, the revenues that you’ll generate from doing the same job you did last year and the years before will now go the board members. Everyone must agree to those terms or else you won’t be allowed in the building.
The players have to fight for every dollar the NBA pays them because their working career just isn’t like the other 95% of America. You and me might have to work for 45 years before we can retire. Playing a professional sport is like working in a factory. Most don’t have transitional skills that can be applied to other industries. What other job can I use a 38 inch vertical? At a desk job, you don’t really need to have a 82 inch wingspan or run a 7 second cone drill. Once they retire from the league, they still have 40+ years of living to do. When you retire from your job after working 40 years you might have 10-15 years. Players are already going broke 3-4 years after they leave the game, so you want them to have less money just so you can watch them play? You take your hourly wage and you pay bills. They pay taxes too, but you don’t have to give 15% to an agent, you don’t have to feed your family’s family. You aren’t your entire family’s meal ticket. These guys may be single but they have a lot more people they need to take care of. They are giving back to those who were there during the lean years of their life. You can argue until your face turns blue that players should bite the bullet for the fans and make do with that they have. But why can’t owners also make better business decisions.
The owners are just like people who buy stocks. When everything is going well, they throw it in your face about how much money they have. As soon as the market turns, they want a bailout. If you are afraid to lose you shouldn’t be playing. The players don’t decide to build new stadiums that billionaire owners talk tax payers into paying for. Those clothes don’t make the man and a new stadium doesn’t make you a contender [Orlando].
Whichever side the fans take will win this lockout. The only problem is that fans are looking at this situation from a short-term prospective while players & owners have a long-term agenda.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:25 am
dagwaller says:
@ Big Beans – unions weren’t created to get more money for the workers. Unions were created to protect the worker.
I’ve thought about things from your point of view before, but it’s a slippery slope. If there wasn’t a union, couldn’t the owners/management just get together and say, “Ok guys, let’s stop this 6 year, 60 million dollar crap and pay them year to year, for 5 million dollars max.”
The union is needed, they’re just doing their job right now. Same thing with the owners.
As I’ve touched upon in the other posts more directly related to this subject, the issue is power. I wish that they’d just keep the BRI the same as it’s been, and use profit sharing to help the owners. If competitive balance is what they really want, I don’t see how profit sharing could possibly hurt.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:26 am
s.bucketz says:
“Here’s the best Bruce Bowen antidote we’ve ever heard.”
antidote????!!!!r u f’in kiddin me????i stopped reading there…and im done…i can no longer bring myself to this garbage ass site wit bs news and THE WORST WRITERS IN THE HISTORY OF WRITING…i used to give people shit for gettin on u guys about grammar and spelling but this is jus turrrible…u guys think cuz u got spell-check on while u type ur good??u gotta get an editor thas not high on crack while hes reading this shit
September 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
s.bucketz says:
its been fun people…maybe ill see u guys when the lockouts over or some shit but im def not commin back for a while…i thought id boycott NBA 2k12 or hangtime but i think this is a better boycott…u cant jus put shit out there and expect us to be ok wit that…0 effort on dime’s part
September 29th, 2011 at 10:46 am
First & Foremost says:
@S.Bucketz – LOL… back off the ledge a little. In an attempted defense of dime, the other article talks about how sick they are/were of Bruce Bowen’s dirty tactics. So the antidote was an anecdote of what they would do to Bruce Bowen.
The reasoning is a stretch but it will have to do. consider it a play on words rather than bad grammar.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:58 am
Big Island says:
s.bucketz – If you are going to criticize a writer for grammar etc., maybe it’z best u dnt write ur stuff like this. u can’t jus put ur opinion out wit dis style and expect us 2 b ok wit it.
The lockout is a clusterfuck. I tried to think of a better term, but there isn’t one. It’s just bad. The owners need to agree as a group to what they want. Then they can go work a deal out with the players.
As far as what side someone takes, it’s like a religion. You are on a side and nobody can change your mind on it. Chicagorilla is with the players, Beans is with the owners. No way either one changes their mind. Chicagorilla is high as fuck (no offense) to try to compare the NBA to a real job. Guys would get fired in a heartbeat at your job if the company wasn’t making money. And if a player goes broke after making millions, well tough shit. That’s their bad for not knowing how to manage their money. I have no sympathy there. Beans is with the owners. Half of them don’t know how to hire a decent GM, overpay for garbage players, don’t pay for players, or don’t care about winning. In the real world a shitty company goes out of business. Put out a quality product or go bankrupt. But even when a team is crap, people still go to games, still buy jerseys, and still support the team. Why would anyone want to pay for season tickets to the Hawks when you know that they are going to get bounced by the second round of the playoffs? Why won’t the owners get rid of the Maloofs? Or Sterling? Why can’t they void a big deal that isn’t working? Arenas, Lewis, even Grant Hill in Orlando? Joe Johnson? A team should be able to go back and fix a mistake. There is blame to go around on both sides. I side a bit more with the players because I feel like the owners sort of got themselves into this position. I also feel like the sport landscape has changed enough that something needs to change and the players need to accept that.
I guess I’m wit s.bucketz n i’m sayin fuk em all.
September 29th, 2011 at 11:01 am
JAY says:
Holy fuck. People are really working on their ‘post’ game today. LOVE IT! Long-ass posts to read, but fukkit… work can wait. Lol
I’m on That’s What’s Up’s side… Great posts by FirstBigOrilla. Better reads than the actual SMACK article.
September 29th, 2011 at 11:14 am
JAY says:
BTW, five more days…
http://www.operationsports.com/news/513598/nba-2k12-controls-trailer/
I’m gonna kill this game till my thumbs cramp and my eyes fall out.
September 29th, 2011 at 11:20 am
JAY says:
http://www.operationsports.com/news/513398/nba-2k12-video-miami-heat-play-of-the-day-da-czar/
September 29th, 2011 at 11:36 am
Sean Sweeney says:
@s.bucketz
You should look up the definition of antidote again. How do you neutralize Bowen? Throw a ball underneath his feet. Then maybe he would’ve stopped doing something similar to other players. First & Foremost has it right.
September 29th, 2011 at 11:37 am
bigbeans says:
The players have to fight for every dollar the NBA pays them because their working career just isn’t like the other 95% of America. You and me might have to work for 45 years before we can retire. Playing a professional sport is like working in a factory. Most don’t have transitional skills that can be applied to other industries. What other job can I use a 38 inch vertical? At a desk job, you don’t really need to have a 82 inch wingspan or run a 7 second cone drill. Once they retire from the league, they still have 40+ years of living to do. When you retire from your job after working 40 years you might have 10-15 years. Players are already going broke 3-4 years after they leave the game, so you want them to have less money just so you can watch them play? You take your hourly wage and you pay bills. They pay taxes too, but you don’t have to give 15% to an agent, you don’t have to feed your family’s family. You aren’t your entire family’s meal ticket. These guys may be single but they have a lot more people they need to take care of. They are giving back to those who were there during the lean years of their life. You can argue until your face turns blue that players should bite the bullet for the fans and make do with that they have. But why can’t owners also make better business decisions.
The average american will work 40 years and never make a million dollars. That means a first round draft picks 1st year deal ends up paying more than the average american will make in their entire life. You are a sad sad man if you think that they have to “fight” for every dollar because of their limited careers. One year my friend… it takes one year and youve already done better than almost everyone you ever knew…. But they need more. They should go over seas over seas doesnt have unions or protection cus they raw like that. It’s funny how American pro sports are paid the best and yet complain the most… never heard of a Euro lockout.
September 29th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
JAY says:
“never heard of a Euro lockout.”
That’s because if the Euro teams want to save money, they just stop paying some of their players. There’s no repercussions for the franchise/team if that happens and the players have to make a decision; continue to play or leave. If they leave, one would think that the player will have a reputation for just leaving the team and will be blacklisted as not loyal, or something to that effect.
Can you imagine if the NBA owners could do that as well?? One morning Prokorov and Jay-Z are having a meeting and Prokorov says, “we’re tight on our budget, what should we do?” Then Jay-Z answers, “Let’s not pay a couple of our players for a month, this way we can save some money.” <-That's what happens overseas. Just as you said you've "never heard of a Euro lockout", if the NBA was allowed to run like some Euro/Asian leagues are run the NBA players wouldn't be locked out either. They just would not be paid.
"They should go over seas over seas doesnt have unions or protection cus they raw like that"
^ Cuz they raw? Lol. Nice way to put it.
Do you have any idea how unions are formed? You should look it up. I don't know how they do it in Europe or Asia, but in North America if workers want to be represented by a union to protect their rights as workers, the workers themselves create it. If you bash the NBA union, then you bash every union because they are started the same way.
I'm only giving my 2 cents to the conversation because you seem hell-bent solely against the players. It's not only the players' fault.
September 29th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
beiber newz says:
with these long ass posts i’d say you’re giving a whole lot more than just 2 cents.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
First & Foremost says:
Ask yourself this: If on your 22nd birthday, you won the lottery for $10M to be paid over 4 years. Would you then proceed to never look for a job for the rest of your life?
You all of a sudden have this excess money. Let me guess, you are going to live in the same crappy apartment. Ride the same bus to work. Wear the same clothes. Visit the same places. Keep in mind your family has never had money so who can you turn to, to help you manage your money? Keep mind there are legitimate people out there who helped you at various points in your life and now you have the means to break even with them.
You know nothing about stock markets and all you hear is how bad they are doing so will you really turn to investments to stretch your money? What are the odds of you winning the lottery again? Slim to none. You have never left the tri-state area but now you have the means to go see places those billboards use as their backgrounds.
Making it to the pros has a similar probability as winning the lottery. Go google how many people end up broke after hitting the powerball. More money more problems is not just a song it is F_____g reality. From the outside looking in we all ask, “What the Fu*k went wrong with your money?” It is clearly harder to manage.
When you know your shelf life is X numbers of years, your goal is to make as much money as possible. That is why young players NEVER request a lower offer. You never know when the game is over so you get as much as you can when you can. Same as the other 95% of the workforce. If you boss offers you more money to do you job in the hopes that you get better at doing it. You take that offer. If you boss told you take a pay cut so the retained earnings looks better at the end of the year for him so he can pay himself a bigger bonus, you’d then see what the NBA players are going through.
Stop comparing their salary with the lifestyles of everyone else. It is apples and pears. Some similarities but you can see the damn difference.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
First & Foremost says:
Look at how many 1st round draft picks aren’t in the league today. The players union is not there to make the superstars richer, it is there to give those 2nd round and undrafted players and the guys who are only in the league for 4-5 years their slice of the pie. You could be a 9 year vet but not making Kobe money. So to even out the pay spectrum they have a veterans minimum. Since their lifestyles are different from the rest of the world they have a league minimum for guys to provide.
A lot of what the union does is to protect the little guy. Teams have a salary floor so you don’t have 1 guy making 90% of the team salary. Look at the composition of the player’s union. Only 1 superstar. Everyone else is a league journeyman.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
rodnets says:
Players = Owners = Selfish
They don´t give a damn about ticket holders. They relay on us watching games and buying tix cause the love of the game. I wish everyone could lock out NBA for a while, and see why players and owners without fans are NOTHING.
Im pissed.
September 29th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
beiber newz says:
THE REASON WHY OWNERS DON’T CARE WHAT THE FANS THINK RIGHT NOW IS BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHEN BASKETBALL IS BACK, YOU’LL COME TO THEM!! It’s like a drug and the fans are the fiends. Once durant is on sprotscenter dropping 40 points consecutive nights, and the heat are about to play the mavs or a rookie starts to take the nba by storm, they know you can’t stay away. They will handle the lockout how they want to handle it. And when it’s all settled, no matter how many games were lost and how many fans were pissed along the way, they know you can’t stay away and you’ll turn on an nba game BECAUSE YOU CAN’T HELP IT. The have the power. They win.