Bryant in 'deal' with Bologna
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Shanghai Daily, October 1, 2011
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U.S. basketball star Kobe Bryant gestures during a sponsor's appearance in Milan, Italy on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. |
National Basketball Association All-Star Kobe Bryant was on the verge of making a remarkable move to the modest Italian basketball arena yesterday after Virtus Bologna President Claudio Sabatini described the deal as "95 per cent done".
With the NBA in lockout, the Los Angeles Lakers player could be set for a return to Italy having been brought up in the country when his father played there for several clubs.
"We have reached a financial agreement," Sabatini was quoted as saying by Italian media. "I've gone beyond my last offer of US$3 million gross. Now we have to discuss the benefits. There are still some things to work out but I'm very optimistic - it's 95 per cent done."
Talks with the shooting guard had initially hit a snag with the American asking for a season's contract and the club, unsure of when the NBA lockout might end, offering a game by game deal. "We've reached a compromise," said Sabatini, revealing the new deal would be for 10 games. "We just need the two signatures now. We couldn't allow it to be any longer."
Bryant, who holds the NBA's third all-time postseason scoring record, had been in Italy as part of his sponsorship duties on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the Lega Serie A start on October 9.
"It's been my dream to play here," the 33-year-old, who speaks perfect Italian, told the Gazzetta dello Sport
"Italy is my home where my dream of playing in the NBA began. Here I learned the basics: to throw, pass, move without the ball - all the things that when I returned to America my peers didn't know because they just thought about jumping and pressing."
Virtus Bologna, which failed to reach the playoffs last season, has won 15 Serie A titles in its 140-year history but none since 2001.
The NBA season, which is set to begin on November 1, has been in lockout after owners and players failed to sign a collective deal on salary structure and the distribution of revenues.
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