ESPN to Televise Streetball Game Featuring NBA Stars?

Kevin Durant is reportedly organizing a huge streetball game next month between two legendary streetball tournaments, and the presence of NBA stars has ESPN interested according to the organizers. SI reports: “The perceived hopelessness of the labor situation is at the root of these ruminations, with players eager to find alternate outlets for their competitive juices. Durant did just that this week, when his plan to create an East vs. West streetball championship came to fruition in the form of an Aug. 20 faceoff between the Drew League and the D.C.-based Goodman League. The D.C. native and back-to-back NBA scoring champion has been a regular at the Goodman League for years, but he stopped by the Drew League on June 20 to see what the West Coast hype was all about. His presence caused quite a stir even before tip-off, with people piling in to see the Oklahoma City star in action. He played in the noon game, then was so impressed by the quality of the play that he asked league commissioner Oris ‘Dino’ Smiley to add him to a second game later in the day. Somewhere between his now-legendary off-the-backboard, alley-oop-to-himself dunk and his flight back east, Durant came up with the idea to create the kind the exhibition game that team officials might have advised against if the lockout hadn’t prevented them from speaking to their players. Los Angeles natives [Dorell] Wright and Baron Davis are handling the logistics. Wright says he wants to make it a ‘huge, huge, huge deal,’ and the game is expected to take place on the court where the likes of Durant, John Wall, Michael Beasley and DeMarcus Cousins so often play in the inner-city D.C. neighborhood known as Barry Farm. Smiley said ESPN has shown some interest in airing the game. The best NBA players from both leagues are expected to team up with some non-NBA players. The trash talk already has begun.”