NBA Stars Coming to London? - Hoopsfix.com

NBA Stars Coming to London?

Whilst the NBA Lockout continues with seemingly no resolve, it is being reported that the league’s top players are making plans for a two-week, six-game, four-continent blockbuster tour; including a stop in London.

If the tour is to go ahead, it is rumoured that two games will be played in the capital in an arena that holds at least 15,000 fans, which immediately points to the o2 in Greenwich. However, basketball journalist Mark Woods has said the arena is denying any involvement in the tour which would feature the likes of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

ESPN reports:

“While the final details are still being worked out, more than a dozen of the league’s best players are working to join forces on what would be a two-week, six-game, four-continent blockbuster tour, sources said.

In a trip that could resemble Team USA’s takeover of the world stage at the 2008 Beijing Games, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce and Kevin Love are among the players expected to participate. Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, among a few others, are also contemplating joining the tour.

Tyson Chandler also has agreed to participate in the tour, a source close to Chandler told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

Griffin’s availability may be in question, however, as he was forced to pull out of a charity exhibition Sunday in Oklahoma City because of a cut on his right foot.

Griffin’s agent, Sam Goldfeder, said Wednesday that Griffin was hurt while swimming in the ocean but that it’s a minor injury and he should be back on the court soon.

Atlanta business mogul Calvin Darden has been putting the tour together with the players’ agents for nearly three months. He has already obtained signed contracts from Bryant, Wade, Bosh, Griffin, Rondo and Pierce. Sources say he’s hoping to complete the rest of the agreements, along with insurance requirements, over the next few days.

Even so, sources warned that the tour has not yet been finalized and there’s still a chance it could unravel.

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.”

Read the full article over at ESPN.

If the tour doesn’t go ahead, UK fans will have to wait until next year for a glimpse of so many NBA stars in one place, when Team USA will be in Manchester as part of their preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

*Update as of Wednesday 26th October*
ESPN are reporting the tour is confirmed and is being dubbed the ‘World All-Star Classic’ with an official announcement to be made by the tour’s organisers on Wednesday.

The two games in the UK are scheduled for Nov. 1 and 3 at the O2 Arena in London, however, the O2 is already seemingly booked up on those dates, leaving lingering doubts about whether or not it will actually take place.

Do you think we’ll be seeing the league’s marquee names in London?

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