Talks of Kobe Bryant to Italy Need to End…Now

If you’re trying to use Kobe Bryant’s interest in playing hoops in Italy as a barometer for the chances of there being an NBA season then do yourself a favor and stop…right now. Depending on who you hear it from, Virtus Bologna is either out of the Bryant business or is gearing up for a mid-November slate of games with Kobe.

Either way, Bryant’s chances of playing in the NBA this season are significantly better than his odds of hooping in Italy. Consider that for a second. David Stern is threatening to cancel Christmas while Claudio Sabatini is pleading for President Obama to help deliver Kobe. Both are pretty implausible scenarios yet salvaging the NBA season seems much more likely than an Italian job for Bryant.

Today pretty much summed up how this entire process has gone.

First Sabatini stated he was backing out of the Bryant sweepstakes. Now that makes complete and total sense. When you’re asking to shift an entire league’s schedule then have to send out a plea to the U.S. President only to then scale back the whole operation to a “Kobe Night”, you know its time to quit.

But Sabatini has all the persistence of a drunken frat boy in a strip club. He later made an about face stating “previous commitments” did not permit Bryant to play in October. So now the mission is to get Bryant in uniform by mid-November.

Whatever…

This entire process is going the route of LeBron’s hairline – it’s fading. Keep in mind Sabatini previously claimed a deal was 95% done. His guarantee seems to mean as much as one from Rex Ryan.

So until further notice, Bryant is not going to Italy. Make of that whatever you will, just don’t assume it means the NBA lockout is ending. You know what happens when you assume, right? You make a Sabatini out of you and me, that’s what happens.