LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Co cancel Homecoming Tour as season likely to begin – NBA News
With the NBA owners and players reaching a tentative deal for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, several A-List stars have cancelled the much anticipated Homecoming Tour.
Stars such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets had been pencilled in for the mega event but have now decided to scrap their plans.
The National Basketball Players Association reached the tentative deal at the weekend with NBA Commissioner David Stern and the owners. As part of the agreement, the players will withdraw class action lawsuits filed against owners,
the union would be re-formed and the new CBA will be put to a vote.
If all goes to plan, training camps are scheduled to begin on December 9th. As the Homecoming Tour was scheduled to start on the first of December, players have decided that they won’t have enough time to undergo the
commitments made as part of the tour and cancelled it all together.
Speaking for the players, Dwyane Wade said that they wanted to instead focus on preparations of the new NBA season with their respective teams.
"We are thrilled that a tentative agreement has been reached and are looking forward to getting back to work and playing basketball," Wade said in a statement. "We all want to reconnect with our teams to make sure we hit the ground
running when training camps are expected to open on December 9. Our commitment to helping children and the communities doesn't stop, and the daily work of our foundations to do just this will continue, as always."
As part of the tour, the players were supposed to play four games in cities across the United States and were to take part in various events to help local communities. All players involved had expressed their delight at being part
of such a multifaceted program.
However, the players have been locked out since July 1st and could not further jeopardize their chances of playing in the NBA by going ahead with the tour once dates for the training camp were announced. The NBA’s free
agency will also begin on December 9th.
The Homecoming Tour was not the first event of its kind this offseason. Ever since the lockout began, NBA stars have been busy working with local communities or performing in exhibition games, often for charity.
Early in the lockout, super stars such as Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Chicago Bulls MVP Derrick Rose were part of a tour to the Philippines. NBA players have also visited other countries, such as China, as part of
exhibition tours and played numerous games within the United States for charitable purposes.
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