RealGM

According to one of his teammates, Kobe Bryant recently threatened, "I'll play in Europe" when they were discussing the potential of an NBA lockout this summer...

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... z1DeXDbQgx

Derek Fisher shut your mouth!

Maybe they're trading him to Italy.

gotta be fish

He won't.

I don't get it....he already signed a contract. Is Kobe playing until he's 40?

what kinda teammate would talk about something to the media...then not want to be identified? i don't believe this article for one second.

Seems to me many of the players are threatening to play overseas to light a fire under the owners asses to get a new CBA done.

Well, I don't see anything wrong with that. He's free to do whatever he wants after his contract is up, or during the lockout portion of the season.

Kobe can still retire as a Laker even if he chooses to play ball in Italy after his NBA career.

I'm not so sure we'd want to sign Kobe to a crazy extension anyway. How effective is he going to be when he's 36 years old, because that's how old he'll be when he starts his next contract. Unless he becomes a deadly 3-point shooter, it's probably best that he hangs them up while he's still at or near the top, instead of pulling a Jordan and trying to show the world that he can still play at the expense of the organization/his teammates.

He can't play overseas until his NBA contract is over. Only players who can play overseas dduring the lockout are UFA. If he leaves at 36 to play in Italy its his right

He played pretty well in the second half last night especially in the 4th... Flashback time...

I think all he might be talking about is playing oversees if there's a lock-out... So I don't see this as a big deal unless he gets hurt. And according to what others are saying, that's not possible unless he files retirement papers.

It would be emotional if he simply retired and went overseas... Like if the CBA wasn't what he wanted or if Jim Buss took over and made him play second fiddle to Bynum...

But if I put my manager hat on and get shrewd, Kobe retiring a little early might not be a terrible thing for the org... He's obviously not replaceable right now, but how many years does he really have left? Judging from the decline we've seen this season, maybe not that many. And his contract being what it is, there are a lot of guys out there that could come in and contribute at a high level and add some bounce to this team.

If Kobe was gone, there might be a line of guys wanting to be the next king of LA... Melo, Rose, Durant... Who knows... Wall? Griffin? Maybe even LeBron...

And one thing's for sure, with Odom, Bynum, Gasol, Artest, Barnes still here, we'd have the best supporting cast available for any of those guys.

That's all pure fantasy basketball talk because Kobe is not going to Italy... The rumor is total BS and over-blows anything that might actually have been said...

But as long as we're talking about it, it's an interesting thought. And Kobe said years ago that he wasn't going to play as long as we might expect... He wanted to go out on top like MJ.

It appears we have a snitch on our team...damn you Ron Artest

^^ the girl with the "LIED" on her shirt is pretty hot

yawn

kobe is just backing up fisher...

The only way Kobe goes to Europe is if next season is cancelled completely I'm guessing Kobe still has goals in the NBA like catching and passing MJ in titles also he probably wants to pass MJ in total points. But I could see Kobe leaving the NBA at the end of his current contract and going to Europe to see if he can lead a team to the Euroleague championship.

great source

bad source. Secondly kobe and fisher are best friends so i dont believe fisher would say anything like this unless kobe said it was ok or he didnt care. Fisher is a in house locker room guy. This wouldnt be him.

joelafan wrote:bad source.

Aki wrote:great source

I swear you all are some of the laziest bunch of computer users in this forum. Is your mouse or track pad broken? Dam!

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2011/02/10/2011-02-10_kobe_bryant_may_leave_lakers_and_nba_for_italy_if_he_does_not_like_terms_of_new_.html

Stern speaks on whether the NBA will try to prevent locked-out players such as Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, while still under contract to their NBA teams, from playing abroad during a potential work stoppage:

"If, in fact, there's a lockout, then the player is free during the course of the lockout to do what he wants to do if his contract is in effect. I don't want to play that game with anybody. ... If we have a collective bargaining arrangement with the union and there's a lockout, then last time around [in 1998] players were free to do what they're going to do, because they've been locked out."