Report: Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker Have Offers from Chinese Teams

Now that Turkey is out of the picture, Kobe Bryant can focus on offers from China. But it won’t be easy for him, Tony Parker and others to play there during the NBA lockout. From Yahoo! Sports: “The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant has offers north of $1.5 million a month to play in China, and sources say he’d be inclined to accept a contract except for the one immense hurdle standing in his way: Chinese Basketball Association officials will likely pass a rule in the middle of this week forbidding the signing of players with NBA opt-out clauses. Bryant is the biggest star deep in negotiations with China, but he isn’t alone. San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker has been engaged in serious talks, too, sources tell Yahoo! Sports, but it won’t matter if China lays down legislation that could be crippling to the signing of NBA stars. Chinese officials want to derail the prospect of rent-a-players for the lockout. That would leave a far smaller pool of NBA free agents available to sign, and those players will have to commit to playing a full season in the Far East. If the lockout ends, they can’t return to the NBA until the Chinese season ends in mid-March.”