DeclinetoState
08-10-2008, 12:22 PM
Link (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news?slug=aw-kobeeuropenewser080908&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
BEIJING – Kobe Bryant (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/kobe+bryant/220296/;_ylt=ApiCf0F65SsPjhwrM1QBxiTHKZt4) won’t sign a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/lal/;_ylt=AijCviEx_x0yAyppTVXq94_HKZt4) until he has tested the global market, the U.S. (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/;_ylt=Ajvtp9LxmQZyFRQgB8Q6YBLHKZt4) Olympic basketball star told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.
Asked whether he plans to solicit overseas offers before signing an extension, Bryant flatly said yes.
It’s possible Bryant could leave the NBA for Europe – perhaps in a dual role of owner and player – as early as next summer. Bryant is signed with the Lakers through the 2010-11 season, but can opt out after next season.
Suddenly, the best player in the world seems determined to pair the changing global economics with his unparalleled popularity to create an international bidding war. A day earlier, Bryant told the Boston Globe that he would consider a $50 million offer to play in Europe.
“As players, the business of the game (is) evolving,” Bryant said before a Team USA practice at Beijing Normal University. “I think free agency now is becoming a global thing …. When players become free agents, the team they’re currently with – their competition is no longer the rest of the teams in the NBA. But it’s global. So, the market’s opened up. So we’ll just have to see how the league responds to it.”
Bryant spent several years of his childhood in Italy (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/ita/;_ylt=AphNjEP2oEfKNw.mCWfzqnLHKZt4) and loves it there. He probably loves it in Italy because it's hard to get convicted of rape. Lest you think I'm being flippant about sexual violence, I remember that a few years ago, a court there ruled that if a woman was wearing tight jeans, it was physically impossible for her to be raped.
BEIJING – Kobe Bryant (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/kobe+bryant/220296/;_ylt=ApiCf0F65SsPjhwrM1QBxiTHKZt4) won’t sign a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/lal/;_ylt=AijCviEx_x0yAyppTVXq94_HKZt4) until he has tested the global market, the U.S. (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/;_ylt=Ajvtp9LxmQZyFRQgB8Q6YBLHKZt4) Olympic basketball star told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.
Asked whether he plans to solicit overseas offers before signing an extension, Bryant flatly said yes.
It’s possible Bryant could leave the NBA for Europe – perhaps in a dual role of owner and player – as early as next summer. Bryant is signed with the Lakers through the 2010-11 season, but can opt out after next season.
Suddenly, the best player in the world seems determined to pair the changing global economics with his unparalleled popularity to create an international bidding war. A day earlier, Bryant told the Boston Globe that he would consider a $50 million offer to play in Europe.
“As players, the business of the game (is) evolving,” Bryant said before a Team USA practice at Beijing Normal University. “I think free agency now is becoming a global thing …. When players become free agents, the team they’re currently with – their competition is no longer the rest of the teams in the NBA. But it’s global. So, the market’s opened up. So we’ll just have to see how the league responds to it.”
Bryant spent several years of his childhood in Italy (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/ita/;_ylt=AphNjEP2oEfKNw.mCWfzqnLHKZt4) and loves it there. He probably loves it in Italy because it's hard to get convicted of rape. Lest you think I'm being flippant about sexual violence, I remember that a few years ago, a court there ruled that if a woman was wearing tight jeans, it was physically impossible for her to be raped.