Posted by Royce Young



I didn't watch this episode and I don't know the context of Kobe's cameo, but for some reason, he got drilled right in the face during a new episode of "The Simpsons."

And if you weren't sure that was supposed to be Kobe, the "KOBE" across his chest should make it pretty clear. He was in a line of appearances from Chucky, that one guy with the wire on his face, Popeye's enemy Bluto (I think) and then a polar bear. Point being, Kobe's a villian. Or I think that's the point.

Via Inside Hoops

Posted by Royce Young

Kobe Bryant was offered a hefty $6.7 million from Italian league team Virtus Bologna, which was the highest offer to any NBA player during the lockout. (That number is under some dispute with another report saying it was for $5 million.)

But it wasn't enough. Not what Kobe was looking for. According to Sportando and Bolognabasket.net, Kobe asked for a cool $15 million, before taxes, which would put it around $7.5 million. Which is obviously too much for the Italian team.

The original AP report noted that there were extensive negotiations going on.

Virtus Bologna general manager Massimo Faraoni tells The Associated Press he's been on conference calls between Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, Bologna president Claudio Sabatini and main sponsor Canadian Solar, which would provide the cash for such a deal.

"I think the fact that he's lived in Italy makes this appealing to him," Faraoni said.

Virtus has given Bryant four different contract options, stretching from the one-year deal to two-month and one-month options, and a per-game deal that would come out to $739,640 per home game.

As Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com noted, the $6.7 million offer would pay him 26.7 percent of what he was set to make in 2011-12 with the Lakers. Kobe's $25.2 milion next season, tops in the NBA.

Obviously Kobe's offer would include an NBA out, but climbing up towards the $15 million range is huge. And clearly way out of Virtus Bologna's price range. But right in Kobe's.

Posted by Ben Golliver. 



Player ratings for the popular basketball video game, NBA 2K12, continue to leak in advance of the game's Oct. 4 release.

A few weeks back, we noted that Miami Heat All-Star forward LeBron James was poised to lead the league in overall ranking with a 98, topping Los Angeles Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, who checked in at 94.

Unofficially, just nine current NBA players check in with ratings at or above "90".  All nine, including James and Bryant,  were All-Stars last season. The others: Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams. 

A number of teams from the past are also included in the game. The 1992-1993 Chicago Bulls are included, led by Michael Jordan, who is rated a 99, and Scottie Pippen, who is rated a 90. Jordan also receives a 99 on the 1997-1998 iteration of the Bulls while he scores just a 92 on the 1985-1986 team.

An expanded list of player rankings has been uploaded to YouTube by user NBA2K12stuff. More rankings have been revealed or compiled by PastaPadre.com and Examiner.com.

Here's a compiled list of ratings for some star players from those sources. Remember: this year's rookie class is not included in the game.  

LeBron James -- Miami Heat -- (98)
Dwyane Wade -- Miami Heat -- (96)
Kobe Bryant -- Los Angeles Lakers -- (94)
Dwight Howard -- Orlando Magic -- (93)
Chris Paul -- New Orleans Hornets -- (93)
Kevin Durant -- Oklahoma City Thunder -- (92)
Derrick Rose -- Chicago Bulls -- (92)
Carmelo Anthony -- New York Knicks -- (91)
Deron Williams -- New Jersey Nets -- (90)
Russell Westbrook -- Oklahoma City Thunder -- (88)
Amar'e Stoudemire -- New York Knicks -- (88)
Pau Gasol -- Los Angeles Lakers -- (86)
Rudy Gay -- Memphis Grizzlies -- (86)
Andre Iguodala -- Philadelphia 76ers --(85)
Blake Griffin -- Los Angeles Clippers -- (85)
Dirk Nowitzki -- Dallas Mavericks -- (85)
Manu Ginobili -- San Antonio Spurs -- (85)
Rajon Rondo -- Boston Celtics -- (85)
Tim Duncan -- San Antonio Spurs -- (84)
Joe Johnson -- Atlanta Hawks -- (84)
Josh Smith -- Atlanta Hawks -- (84)
Steve Nash -- Phoenix Suns -- (84)
Monta Ellis -- Golden State Warriors -- (83)
Kevin Garnett -- Boston Celtics -- (83)
Stephen Jackson -- Milwaukee Bucks -- (83)
Gerald Wallace -- Portland Trail Blazers -- (83)
LaMarcus Aldridge -- Portland Trail Blazers -- (83)
Zach Randolph -- Memphis Grizzlies -- (83)
Paul Pierce -- Boston Celtics -- (82)
Eric Gordon -- Los Angeles Clippers -- (82)
Joakim Noah -- Chicago Bulls -- (82)
John Wall -- Washington Wizards -- (82)
Kevin Love -- Minnesota Timberwolves -- (81)
Al Jefferson -- Utah Jazz -- (81)
Danny Granger -- Indiana Pacers -- (81)
Chris Bosh -- Miami Heat -- (80)
Tyreke Evans -- Sacramento Kings -- (80)
Tony Parker -- San Antonio Spurs -- (80)
Stephen Curry -- Golden State Warriors -- (80)
Andrew Bynum -- Los Angeles Lakers -- (79)

Hat tip: Welcome To Loud City 

Posted by Ben Golliver. 

There's a new leader in the clubhouse, and it should come as no surprise that it's Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

The Associated Press reports that Bryant, the NBA's highest-paid player, has been offered a $6.7 million contract to play for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Serie A basketball league for a season. That figure is the largest reported offer made to an NBA player during the ongoing NBA lockout. 

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar spent part of his youth in Italy while his father played there. He speaks Italian, prompting Bologna to hope he might return if there's an NBA lockout.

Virtus Bologna general manager Massimo Faraoni tells The Associated Press he's been on conference calls between Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, Bologna president Claudio Sabatini and main sponsor Canadian Solar, which would provide the cash for such a deal.

"I think the fact that he's lived in Italy makes this appealing to him," Faraoni said.

Virtus has given Bryant four different contract options, stretching from the one-year deal to two-month and one-month options, and a per-game deal that would come out to $739,640 per home game.

Bryant's father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played in Italy with Rieti, Reggio Calabria, Pistoia and Reggiana from 1984-1991. The elder Bryant now coaches the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA.

This offer, like previously reported short-term offers from Virtus Bologna, includes an opt-out clause should the NBA finally reach a new labor agreement with the National Basketball Players Association.

The size of this offer trumps deals given to New Jersey Nets All-Star point guard Deron Williams, who signed a deal that reportedly could pay him up to $5 million to play for Besiktas of Turkey, and free agent forward Kenyon Martin, who recently signed a Chinese Basketball Association record deal totalling $3 million to play in China for Xingiang Guanghui. Bryant has previously received reported offers or interest from Besiktas and China but those offers were not as clear and firm as this offer appears to be. 

By comparison, the $6.7 million on the table from Virtus Bologna equates to 26.7 percent of what he was set to be paid by the Lakers next season. Bryant was set to make an NBA-high $25.2 million during the 2011-2012 NBA season and is scheduled to make $27.8 million in 2012-2013 and $30.5 million in 2013-2014.

Posted by Ben Golliver. 

Back in August, a a California man accused Los Angeles Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant of injuring his wrist during a dispute over a cell phone in a church near San Diego. At the time, police sources would only say that "something occurred" and that they would be "following up" to determine what happened.

TMZ.com reports Wednesday that the case will be referred to the prosecutor's office in San Diego.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the case will be referred to the San Diego City Attorney, but cops think at best it would be filed as a misdemeanor battery, which carries a maximum sentence of 6 months in jail.

Days after word of the incident first surfaced, Bryant issued a strong denial through his attorney. 

Kobe's attorney Mark Campbell says the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is "aware of the baseless allegations asserted against him, and is prepared to defend against them fully."

Well, obviously, "misdemeanor battery" is a significantly better proposition than "felony assault" or some such, so this is a step in the right direction for Bryant, who probably wishes this whole incosequential incident would simply go away all together. But it's rarely that easy for celebrities, especially those with money living in one of the world's most litigious locales: Southern California.

By Matt Moore

Turkish teams rushed into the fold. Then China started dabbling. Russia, Greece, the usual players have come to the table. Now Italy has its professional basketball teams charging the field to claim the crown jewel of lockout-available NBA players. 

BolognaBasket.it reports that Virtus Bologna, which has been pursuing Manu Ginobili and who recently signed Chris Douglas-Roberts, has made an offer to Kobe Bryant for $800,000 per home game, or $600,000 net. Which is kind of a lot of money for anyone, even Kobe Bryant. Bryant has previously turned down offers from Besiktas in Turkey and has played the international game cool while repeatedly saying his options remain open. Virtus may be in a better position at most, however, given the fact that Bryant spent a considerable amount of his youth in Italy with his father playing professionally there. 

Italy's season won't start until November, which means Bryant could take the offer knowing that the lockout is likely to drag on past the beginning of the year. Bryant could really use the rest on his body and doesn't need the money, obviously, but that's not how his mind works, by any and all accounts. He'll pursue playing basketball and beating opponents and making money, because that's what he does.

Can't expect a snake not to be a snake, now.  

(HT: IAmaGM.com via PBT) 

Posted by Royce Young

First, they played a really entertaining street ball game in Washington D.C. Then they planned for a rematch in Los Angeles. Then, it fell apart, with the Drew League claiming it was all the Goodman's fault.

Now? Now they're actually going to have a rematch. It's the Goodman League vs. the Drew, part two. This time from Los Angeles.

The Goodman's official Twitter feed sent this out on Monday: "The Most anticipated rematch in rematch history!.......October 9, 2011 Goodman vs. Drew League in L.A. California time and venue TBA!"

Most anticipated rematch? You sound like a UFC commerciai, Inside Da Gates. But it's true: People will certainly be looking forward to this, especially if Kobe Bryant were to make an appearance.

If you recall, the Goodman defeated the Drew on a controversial call that gave Kevin Durant two free throws which sealed it, 135-134. Goodman's team featured Durant, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and Ty Lawson. The Drew had Brandon Jennings, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and JaVale McGee, among other.

The Goodman already has another game lined up in Rucker Park for Oct. 1, but both those games could potentially fall apart if somehow a new collective bargaining agreement could get settled on. Which is what we all really want to see. These league versus league games are nice, but I think we're all a little bored with them now. They were fun for a while, but it's time for real basketball.

By Matt Moore

The whole point of the actual lockout is to pressure the players into submitting to the owners' demands, or at least to gain as much leverage as possible for the owners in the dispute. And as much as the players will talk about just wanting to play, the money is what matters here.

A phrase that's been used a lot in discussions is "the lockout doesn't start until the players miss a paycheck." The idea is that once the players start missing regular paychecks, no matter how much they say they've prepared for a long lockout, they'll start to get anxious, apply pressure to their union, and the result will be a deal even more amicable to the owners than what is expected (which is a pretty pro-owner deal to begin with).

But in an interview with the L.A. Times last week in Las Vegas, union head Billy Hunter mentioned something that could have a big impact on the players' ability to hold out through the financial siege. From the Times:

What role will NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James play as this moves forward?"

"They've been deeply involved in the meetings we've had. I know Kobe is intimately involved in interfacing with colleagues and sharing in a pool of revenue to help the others get through this. Kobe has volunteered to do that in the event others need, he and others are prepared to loan money if necessary."

via Monday Q&A: NBA players union executive director Billy Hunter - latimes.com. 

There's been talk of a potential pool for a whle, but this is concrete talk from a union head on the matter. It's a sign of how deeply, at least on the surface, the players are in surviving this lockout to get at least some of what they want from the negotiations. Think of it this way. If you were involved in a labor dispute at your job, would you offer to give money so that workers who aren't as good at their job as you are can continue to live comfortably?

At the same time, Bryant has more than enough career earnings to survive the lockout, as most of the stars do. It's also a two-way street. In helping the lower-paid players, the stars decrease the chances that those players will circumvent what the star players want in order to get a deal. The role players watch the stars' backs in negotiations, the stars help out with the roleplayers' finances. It sounds pretty noble until you start to factor just how much moeny we're talking about in terms of "living comfortably." 

The players have also started receiving their escrow checks from multiple sources, and that's just icing on the cake. But this is still September. The union will have to show this resolve into November and potentially beyond in order to force the owners off the hard line, if the owners don't get their house in order and put the moderates back in charge of talks first.