Kobe Bryant offered a lucrative contract for an Italian Job – NBA Update
Los Angeles Lakers super star Kobe Bryant has received a bumper contact offer to play in Italy next season. Italian side Virtus Bologna is willing to offer up to $6.7 million for a stint during the lockout.
Bryant, of course, spent a part of his childhood in Italy. His father Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, who is now a head coach in WNBA, played in Italy from 1984 to 1991 with many teams including Rieti, Reggio Calabria, Pistoia and Reggiana.
Bryant knows Italian and even played in the youth circuits there and Bologna are hoping that the shooting guards’ ties with Italy will prove decisive in getting him on the team roster.
"I think the fact that he's lived in Italy makes this appealing to him," General Manger Massimo Faraoni said recently.
The move to get Bryant reportedly involves Canadian Solar, the company believed to be sponsoring the deal. There have been reports that Kobe’s agent Rob Pelinka has been working on the contract with Faraoni, Bologna President Claudio
Sabatini and Canadian Solar. The company however denied any such involvement in a press release,
"The contract is being negotiated between Virtus and Kobe Bryant's agent. Canadian Solar is not at the negotiating table,"
Although Bologna did not qualify for the EuroLeague competition this season, they are still a powerful team. Their general manager, although hopeful that Kobe will sign the dotted line soon, revealed that the team was quietly confident
in their ability as it is.
"I think we already have a competitive squad for Serie A, but Kobe is obviously a great champion and he would make a great addition to the team," Faraoni said. "I would put us just behind Milano and Siena."
Kobe has been one of the most sought after stars during the lockout and stated even before the lockout began that he could be interested in playing abroad next season. He now has a concrete offer on the table that would earn him
a significant amount of money.
The Lakers star has already been embroiled in a drawn out transfer saga with Turkish club Besiktas. Besiktas courted Kobe for a long period when the lockout started. They had already tied down New Jersey Nets star Deron Williams
to a contract but Kobe proved to be much more elusive.
After many twists and turns, that move collapsed. It is also believed that Bryant attracted interest from China but nothing came of it in the end. It will be interesting to see what happens with this latest foreign proposal.
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