From Guido Guida of La Gazetta Dello Sport, regarding negotiations between Bryant and Virtus Bologna: “Will I be coming to play in Italy? It’s likely. It would be a dream for me. There’s a chance it might happen and we’re discussing it at the moment. It’s very possible, and that’s good news for me.” The Lakers star is currently touring Italy with sponsors Nike (today he was at an event in Milan; tomorrow he will be in Rome), but he found time to be
A tasty morsel from the NBA lockout talks
NEW YORK — If NBA commissioner David Stern kept his word, we should be past the sugar-rush phase of today’s collective bargaining negotiations. CBSSports.com NBA writer Ken Berger went to a bakery, ordered this chocolate cake and had it sent to the 14th floor conference room where the sides were meeting yesterday. Afterward, Stern said, “We agreed to have it for breakfast.”
Purchased at Stork's Bakery, Whitestone, Queens, NYC.
Exclusive: Owners proposing 4 luxury tax levels
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — As noted in this earlier post, a few details of what was in the owners’ latest proposal to the players’ union have come to light. Here is another one: SheridanHoops.com has learned that the owners have proposed four different levels of the luxury tax, with the tax increasing from a dollar-for-dollar levy on teams slightly above the luxury tax threshold (which was $70.307 million last season, when the Lakers, Magic and Mavericks were reportedly the only tax-paying teams),
Weijia column: Unemployed Yi Jianlian coming back to America
By Guan Weijia BEIJING — Chinese media and fans are usually harsh, sometimes even cruel. Even Yao Ming, the symbol of China and the greatest basketball player ever produced by the world’s most populated country, was criticized by a lot of Chinese Yao-haters. Even today, there are still a large number of Chinese fans who disapprove of Yao’s achievements, judging him as tall but awkward, calling him “Yao the Stupid” (In Mandarin, it is pronounced Yao Da Sha). The criticism of Yi Jianlian is more
NBA Lockout: Short meeting on ‘ideas and concepts’ – UPDATED
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — If things had gone poorly Tuesday in the jump-started NBA collective bargaining talks, the sides would have let that be known. So it should probably be seen as a positive sign that the owners and players retreated to their neutral corners after meeting for less than three hours and agreed to meet again today. I tweeted back on June 30 that there was probably a deal to be done at 52/48 in terms of the split in
Gibson column: Euroleague Preview
By Nick Gibson of EuroleagueAdventures.com Kevin Durant doesn’t seem too keen on spending his lockout overseas. Dwight Howard says he has a soft spot for China, but that’s what Dwight Howard does: says things. And though self-proclaimed Europhile Kobe Bryant has entertained overtures from Italian and Turkish squads (Chinese, too), not even the Black Mamba has inked a deal that would keep him busy while the NBA plays its games in conference rooms instead of on basketball courts. So no, we haven’t seen
NBA Lockout: Sheridan’s Thoughts via Trail Blazers radio
By Chris Sheridan Yes, to all of my tweeps and e-mailers who keep asking me if I think the NBA season is going to start on time. Yes. Why do I believe this? Have a listen to this podcast from Trail Blazers radio, in which I lay it all out: Chris Sheridan Interview for Portland Trail Blazers radio
NBA lockout negotiations to resume Tuesday
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com broke the news: “Tuesday and Wednesday represent the last opportunities to bargain this week with several key members of both sides’ negotiating teams observing Rosh Hashanah on Thursday and Friday.” “The precise composition and format for the negotiations is still being determined due to a scheduling conflict of at least one key member of the parties that have made progress in small-group settings since Aug. 31. Once that is resolved, the goal is to continue with the small-group