Kobe Bryant: Italian Basketball Star?

Will consider offers to play in Europe

It appears that the European threat is not solely a problem in the NHL. In the midst of the Olympics in Beijing, several of the biggest stars in the National Basketball Association currently representing the United States are being tabbed as potential future stars overseas. Following talk that LeBron James may look into options in Europe once his deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers concludes, Yahoo! Sports’ Andrian Wojnarowski reports that Kobe Bryant could explore the global free agent market as soon as next summer.

Bryant’s current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers runs through the 2010-11 campaign, but he may opt out of the deal following next season. Whenever his term with the Lakers reaches its end, Bryant will see what options exist for him in Europe, according to Wojnarowski.

The most likely destination for Bryant is Italy:

“Bryant spent several years of his childhood in Italy and loves it there. Seven years ago, he bought an ownership stake in Olimpia Milano of the Italian league for his father Joe to run. When Bryant was asked whether he held intrigue with owning and playing on a team together, he said, ‘Absolutely,’ (Wojnarowski)“

Obviously, the Lakers cannot be pleased with this news. After doing everything in their power for so many years to please Bryant, especially after last summer’s back-and-forth saga with Kobe wanting to be traded and then not, the prospect of losing him after next year is disheartening news. After a resurgence of the star and the team last year, culminating in an NBA Finals appearance, the team must have assumed a long-term contract to take Bryant almost near retirement was well in the cards. Having to compete with up to $50 million a year offers (which I assume would include marketing efforts) is a pretty big obstacle to come up against. After doing so much to please its star, this is the last thing Los Angeles wants to hear.

It’s not exactly an impossibility, either. Though he would clearly be the biggest star to head overseason, the NBA has lost quite a few players to Europe this offseason. Players like Carlos Delfino and Atlanta Hawks 2004 first round draft pick Josh Childress have left the NBA for contracts worth decent money and the possibility for greater exposure in Europe. Childress landed a three-year, $20 million with Greece’s Olympiakos.

It’s also possible Bryant, and even James, are using this European option solely for leverage. Even if $50 million were to come their way per year, they are two of the NBA’s biggest stars and that’s unmatchable in any European league. For players that are going to make so much money in contracts and endorsements in America, is $50 million per season really enough to make them leave the best basketball league in the world?

Bryant already plays on a large stage in Los Angeles and just witnessed Lakers management form a team more than capable of competing for the NBA Title for several years. For LeBron, the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks, who provide a much bigger stage than Cleveland, are both making it a priority to have cap and roster room available when he’s free agent eligible in a few years.

So, I doubt either player will actually end up in Europe despite claiming to be interested. Even that mere interest, though, presents a leverage problem to NBA clubs who would be foolish to even think about calling the bluff of players like Bryant and James.

Must Win For Lesnar At UFC 87

Looks to rebound off loss to Frank Mir at UFC 81

Brock Lesnar has only two professional fights under his belt but his hype in the mixed martial arts world is matched perhaps only by EliteXC’s Kimbo Slice. Like Slice, Lesnar is a newcomer to the industry after making his name in another arena. Lesnar, however, isn’t being dealt mediocre competition like Slice. Instead, the Minnesota native has been thrown to the wolves by Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

After handling Min Soo Kim at K-1’s Dynamite!! USA a year ago, Lesnar attracted quite a bit of attention as a legitimate MMA talent. I’m sure many offers came his way. But his physique, credentials and desire landed him in the big house of the UFC. And instantly, he became an MMA superstar and was forced into proving himself as a real heavyweight competitor in the sport.

His first fight came at UFC 81: Breaking Point against former UFC Heavyweight Frank Mir. Lesnar looked impressive against Mir, doing a good job of pounding away in much the same fashion that forced Kim into submission in the K-1 event. Mir, however, is a veteran of the game and caught Lesnar. He locked in a kneebar and Lesnar’s UFC debut came to a close at 1:30 in the first round via submission.

Unfortunately, such a result is possible when an organization chooses to throw top fighters at newcomers ran than soft competition like what EliteXC has mostly done with Kimbo Slice. Such a strategy also opens the possibility that a string of just two or three losses can cost a once heavily-hyped prospect almost all his credibiltiy in the industry.

This is what Lesnar now faces. Tonight, he enters the octagon for just the second time and will stare across the cage at another veteran heavyweight. Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring has suffered his fair share of losses to big-name fighters. But he also has 42 fights to his name with a 28-13 record and would love nothing more than to piece together two straight wins after defeating Cheick Kongo via split decision at UFC 82.

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Lesnar has the ability to defeat Herring. Lesnar more than has the skills. But if he doesn’t think before he acts like he did against Mir, Lesnar will once again open himself up and Herring will pounce on that. Can Lesnar, then, enter the octagon with both an offensive and defensive strategy?

If he can, then I think Lesnar will be on his way to putting his first UFC loss behind him and get on track to climb the ladder in a very thin heavyweight division. If Lesnar comes into this fight with guns blazing and doesn’t protect himself, then he might be staring at an 0-2 UFC record and the loss of all the momentum and big money opportunities that came his way when he first signed on.

I hope Lesnar does score the win and moves on to be one of the UFC’s top heavyweights. He just needs to stay smart, which is a difficult thing to do when thrown to the wolves at such an early stage in his MMA career.