Kobe Bryant came to a verbal agreement with Italian club Virtus Bologna to play 10 games in 40 days for $3 million dollars early Friday morning. Fast forward just a few hours later, however, and it seems that the deal reported to be "95 percent done" has already fallen apart.
Kobe Bryant Signing In Italy Is No Done Deal, According To Report
Virtus Bologna apparently was unable to get the league they play in, Lega Serie A, to drastically alter their schedule. The plan was to optimize its schedule in order to allow Bryant to play in as many games as possible during his weirdly specific contract, but the league has shot that down, according to a report from Sportando Basket.
Italian Serie A plays one game per week, usually on Sunday, but Virtus asked to play also in the middle of the week and against the most important clubs to have a huge share and more tickets sold in the biggest arenas. Today Legabasket rejected the proposal to make special schedules for Virtus.
This is obviously a developing report, but it looks like it might be a little while longer until the Los Angeles Lakers' superstar officially signs to play somewhere overseas during the NBA lockout. If these reports stand, it would be the third time it seemed like Bryant was close to playing abroad -- first in China, then in Turkey -- before something fell through at the last minute.
Hopefully the lockout just ends this weekend so the will he or won’t he discussions don’t keep happening over the next few months.
See More:
