Will Kobe Bryant be playing for Italy after his contract is up with LA?

Question

Word has it that European pro teams are gearing up to pay salaries ~$50 million dollars to NBA stars... Kobe has said he will take the money...

Also Labron may play for Greece... not good for the NBA

Answer 1

wow i hope not

Answer 2

no!! where did u get this , its like saying MJ will go play ENGLAND are u nuts!! never!!

Answer 3

He's gonna play in Italy if they dont win Gold in the Olympics that's for sure

Answer 4

even if they offer Kobe a million $$$$$ i bet the lakers will offer him more

Answer 5

nobody will pay kobe anywhere close to that money to play anywhere.  lebron on the other hand might get offered 30-40 mil.

Answer 6

if some euro team is willing to offer him 50 mil a year, kobe is gone. not only is the euro stronger than the dollar but everything is tax free over there. he would easily get as many sponsorships there as he does here. perfect example of this situation: david beckham. he came over from europe and a popular team to the US for 250 mill.  

Answer 7

Idk..

Answer 8

he might, if he needs the money, however no big stars have done so before.

Answer 9

That's what Kobe said ,but I hope he doesn't. I believe he's still thinking about it though.

Answer 10

Noway would the Lakers let their franchise player leave Los Angeles!

Answer 11

It is pretty definite that those two may play overseas. It is similar to someone studying abroad, its their job and they would like to do something different. I read that they would only leave for a couple of years and then make this "grand" return. They don't have salary caps on their teams in Europe so whatever they want to offer these players the sky is the limit. I mean, who wouldnt go for 50 million or more (and thats what they just offered lebron) there is no telling how much a team would offer kobe especially because he is more world renoun than lebron is.

Answer 12

idk if its true, but if it is, its totaly bullshit

Answer 13

At the end of the day the NBA's salary cap restrictions will not allow them to pay NBA superstars as much as a foreign team, like a CSKA Moscow, that doesn't have those constraints to deal with. If you're a player like Kobe Bryant (some say now LeBron is thinking the same), who's had a full career when it comes to NBA standards (3 Rings, MVP, Scoring Champion, 1st Team All Defense, 1st Team All NBA). There is nothing else to do for him in this league. So why not go to a team and a league that is willing to pay him $50+ mil. That doesn't include the amount of money he would get from endorsements (lost all his U.S. endorsements during false rape scandal), it would be very enticing.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement that the NBA has will not allow for the league to survive. These greedy billionaire owners need to stop being so tight with their money and pay these superstars they employ the money they deserve for making them those billions.

Just food for thought.  

Answer 14

h**l to the NO!!!

I don't think the superstars will want to play where there is less competition, less visibility, etc...    

I see that more happening with 'borderline' NBA players OR  good (but non-superstar) players who may give up  NBA life to get 'superstar' pay.

I think there are just too many perks being an NBA Super Star.

Answer 15

I love Italy!

I love Italian sausages!

I love Shaq's chocolate caramel pudding!

Think Happy Thoughts!