A lot of big-time NBA stars could be participating in an NBA lockout exhibition tour. The tour will include Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. There will also be two UCLA basketball products on the trip: Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Chris Broussard of ESPN has the story of a potential international tour that'll be spanning the globe and is sponsored by business mogul Calvin Darden.
The tour, scheduled to begin Oct. 30 and end Nov. 9, will make stops in Puerto Rico, London, Macau, and Australia. Each game will be staged in an arena that holds at least 15,000 fans. Two games each will be played at sites in London and Australia.
Darden is hoping to broadcast the games in as many international markets as possible and perhaps in the United States as well.
The players will be paid, receiving salaries ranging from six figures up to $1 million, sources said. Some of the money generated by the tour will be donated to charity.
The tour would be the biggest lockout event NBA players have ever staged. While locked out in 1998, several stars played an exhibition game in Atlantic City. Current players have staged several charity games over the past month, most notably the "The South Florida All-Star Classic" featuring James and Wade, played in Miami last Saturday.
It's good to see basketball players try and do some good during a very difficult patch for the league. If this thing drags on any longer, players like Bryant and Griffin might have to plan a year-long exhibition tour. Hit up every country everywhere to keep themselves marketable!
For more on Kobe and the Lakers, check out Silver Screen and Roll. For more on Blake and the Clippers, check out Clips Nation.
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