Looks as if Kobe Bryant is headed back to his Italian roots. ESPN is reporting that Mamba has agreed to a $3 million dollar deal with Italian club Virtus Bologna. According to a source, the agreement is 95% done and will last for the first 40 days of the Italian season.
Coincidentally (or not :shrug:) this all takes place on the day that the NBA and players Union officials are meeting in New York for was is said to be the last ditch effort to have the NBA season start on time. Of course Kobe has an out clause should something fall together.
Chris Douglas-Roberts (who played last season with the Milwaukee Bucks) is also on this team. He’s a workout junkie like Kobe, that might be a pairing.
Former USC Trojan Daniel Hackett also plays in the Italian league, this is what he had to say about the prospect of Kobe playing,
“The only way to stop a player that good is with a hard foul and he knows that,” Hackett said. “I’ve got five fouls to commit and they’re going to be the hardest five fouls I’ve ever committed.”
**UPDATE**
This deal may have already hit a snag. There are now reports that the Italian league won’t ok the game schedule proposed by Virtus Bologna that would’ve allowed the team to play in the largest arenas against the biggest teams during Mamba’s time with the team. Thus providing more $$ for the team. Stay tuned as I said, the timing of all of this is very curious.
Curtsy to Dime
