My Sports News Digest

As the NBA lockout drags on and on and on, there have been more players talking to overseas teams about taking their talents across the pond. Here is today’s roundup of news.

• Tyson Chandler has decided not to take an offer to play in China, tweets ESPN’s Chris Broussard. “I was considering it but I don’t think I’m going to. It was hard to turn down.” For Chandler and other free agents to be, there is a lot of risk in heading overseas – an injury could cost tens of million to Chandler. What happened to J.R. Smith had to scare guys thinking about these deals.

• Jeremy Lin’s deal to play in Italy is “not set in stone,” according to CSNBayArea.com. I didn’t know they carved contracts in stone still in Europe, but they have those old-world traditions.

• Tony Parker confirmed that if the lockout continues he will play the full season for Villeurbanne, and said he would make an offer to Boris Diaw to join him (via Hoopshype).

• Golden State big man Ekpe Udoh has signed with Bnei Hasharon in Israel, and he has an NBA opt out. In an interesting note, Udoh replaces J.J. Hickson who replaced Trevor Booker on the team this season.

• Juan Carlos Navarro could have returned to the NBA and had a lot of teams interested in him, but he instead has agreed to a contract extension with Barcelona through the 2014-15 season.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NBA news see: NBA overseas roundup: Tyson Chandler turns down China.

You may have thought after talks broke down (or never really existed) with Besiktas, that the hubub about Kobe Bryant playing overseas would die down. But Bryant loves playing, will never admit that he needs time to rest, and has an insatiable desire to beat other human beings at basketball. So Bryant wants you to know, he’s not closed to that idea. From the AP:

Kobe Bryant said that he’s still considering playing overseas because an owners’ lockout of players threatens to sabotage the upcoming NBA season.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a youth basketball clinic in Singapore that he didn’t know if there will be a 2011-12 season and hasn’t ruled out playing abroad.

“I could,” Bryant said Saturday. “I’m playing abroad right now.”

via Lakers’ Bryant still mulling playing abroad – NBA- NBC Sports.

Bryant may just be making noise. He’s got enough engagements with Nike and various other functions to keep him busy. Eventually he’ll want to work out with the Lakers (though the AP reports no such practice has been scheduled). And Bryant has at least stayed fairly involved in the labor talks. But if things turn bleaker (than they already are), it’s not crazy to think Bryant will eventually pursue a spot in China, Italy (where he has roots) or elsewhere.

Until then, though, it’s just talk. Like everything else in the lockout. (Well, except for Deron Williams who continues to play for Besiktas. Whoops.)

There are so many NBA players both talking to and signing with overseas teams that we collect them in a daily roundup. We do this in bullet points because we are bloggers and they are addictive to us like bon-bons to an old housewife.

• How does Nick Young feel about smoking in arenas? It’s a valid question because the young Wizard’s swingman is apparently in talks to play there, according to Marc Stein at ESPN. He is a restricted free agent, which means a Chinese team can sign him under that league’s new restrictive rules, but Young would have to stay there the entire season, no opt out clause. It’s what Wilson Chandler just agreed to, but how many other guys are going to make that commitment?

Young averaged 17.4 points per game for the Wizards and is part of their up-tempo game, a good fit along side John Wall. Losing him for a season (the Wizards would retain his NBA rights) would be a blow.

• From that same report, Thaddeus Young also is looking at offers from China.

• Some good news for Wizards fans, their top pick in this year’s draft — Jan Vesely — says he is not going to play overseas, reports CSNWashington.com. That’s a risk for him, he could get a deal in Europe with an opt-out clause, but he is committed to the Wizards.

• The Clippers Chris Kaman said he is not likely to go overseas because he does not want to leave a team midseason.

• The Clippers Al-Farouq Aminu has had offers but is staying put during the lockout.

There are so many NBA players both talking to and signing with overseas teams that we collect them in a daily roundup. We do this in bullet points because we are bloggers and that is what we do.

• Despite the reports that came out yesterday, Denver Nugget Wilson Chandler has not inked a deal with Olimpia Milano of Italy. Both Chandler’s agent and the GM of Milano said that there is no deal. But they are talking, there may be one soon.

• Lost in the sadness of the delay over his name change is this note — Ron Artest is waiting until after Nov. 22 to decide whether or not to play in England. Insurance issues may mess up him playing with the Cheshire Jets, but he said he wants to play somewhere small, not for one of the big teams in Europe.

• Pape Sy, he formerly of the Hawks and with a nice cult following, has reportedly agreed to a deal with the French team BCM Gravelines.

• D.J. Strawberry, who bounced around the NBA for a few years (Suns, Rockets, Lakers, Hornets) but played last year in Lithuania, has signed to stay overseas with Hapoel Jerusalem.

There are so many NBA players both talking with and signing with overseas teams that we give it to you in roundup, bullet-point form. We’re bloggers, we can no more resist using bullet points than John Stewart can resist mocking Fox News.

• The first Chicago Bull is down, Rasual Butler has signed with Gran Canaria in Spain, according to our man Aggrey Sam at CSNChicago.com. Butler does have an opt-out clause to return to the NBA. Every Bulls fan that just read that shrugged with indifference. Still, for Butler, beautiful part of Spain, great people.

• Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins is in negotiations with multiple European teams. If he signs, I can guarantee you that Kings fans will do more than shrug with indifference. More like scream as if someone drove an SUV over their foot.

• Golden State’s enigmatic big man Andris Biedrins is apparently close to signing in Europe. Where depends on who you ask. As reported at CSNBayArea.com, teams in both Latvia and Turkey say he is coming. My best guess: Biedrins has figured out the secrets to human cloning.

• A personal favorite of mine to watch (especially at Summer League), Golden State’s Reggie Williams, has signed to play with Caja Laboral of Spain, Yahoo reports. He can return to the NBA with a million buyout, which really means he is not coming back next season.

• One time No. 8 overall pick Joe Alexander’s has signed a one-year contract with Krasyne Kaylya Samara of the Russian League. He does not have an opt out clause.

• Spurs swingman Danny Green has signed to play in Slovenia. He does have an opt out clause.

There are so many NBA players both talking with and signing with overseas teams that we’re going to start putting them in a regular roundup (major stars, like Amar’e Stoudemire, still get their own posts). Why? Because I’m a blogger and therefore am drawn to bullet points like a moth to a bug zapper.

• Wilson Chandler has some decisions to make — he has a .7 million offer for a full season in China and also is listening to an offer from Italy, his agent told Hoopshype. Wilson Chandler (shipped from the Knicks to the Nuggets in the Carmelo Anthony deal last season) is a restricted free agent in the NBA. Which means he can sign for a full season overseas and not have an opt out clause. But he wants one (and the Chinese Government is going to say deals can’t have then) so it remains a sticking point in the talks.

• Dirk Nowitzki to German site Sport1 (translation via Hoopshype): “Obviously, there are offers. There are concrete offers on the table. I won’t rule out Germany. Everybody is always only talking about Germany. I might also (go) play in China or South America.”

• Look for the Knicks Roger Mason (a free agent) to sign with Hapoel Jerusalem during the lockout. Mason will have an NBA opt out. By the way, he played there six years ago so he knows what to expect in the Israeli league.

• Jan Vesely, the No. 6 overall pick of the Washington Wizards in the last draft, has said he will decide later this month what he will do about this season. He is considering returning to Europe for a year (the Wizards would retain his rights).

• Jerry Stackhouse tried to get a lockout gig with Italian club Virtus Bologna, but they turned him down.

• Justin Harper, a draft pick of the Orlando Magic, will play in France during the lockout but is trying to swing an out clause so he can come back and try to make the Magic when the lockout ends.

Kevin Durant is playing all the time this summer. The man is pretty much playing the same amount he was during the regular season. He’s made stops in the Philippines, multiple Pro-Ams, Rucker, the list goes on and on. And he’s not through. Kevin Durant told reporters at a Goodman league event Sunday in Washington that he’s got a plan for deciding whether to go overseas or not:

Durant said that after speaking with Stephen Jackson and a few other players last week, he has decided to set a deadline of Oct. 1. “Once we really know the season is not going to start at regular time, that’s when you make the decision,” he said. “I guess when October hits, it’s really going to get real for me. I don’t want to do it too early and be locked into something, knowing we’re going to play. I’m going to keep my options open.”

via Kevin Durant stars at Goodman League, sets Oct. 1 deadline for potential overseas decision – Wizards Insider – The Washington Post.

Aside from the irritating “I’m going to keep my options” line which has become like some sort of wind-up phrase from every NBA player’s mouth, it would appear that playing overseas is as firmly on Durant’s radar as it is for every player, even if it is just talk. October 1st is a nice solid deadline. If the lockout isn’t resolved by then (breaking news: it won’t be), that’s when it’s going to be clear games will be missed. That’s when checks stop coming. That’s when the lockout really begins. (Hold on, I just reread that sentence after the interminable last 45 days and I need to go throw up. … There. Much better.)

So until then, Durant will continue in his quest to play and beat everyone in North America, and when he runs out of park ball chumps, he may go drop 40 on the Continent. Such a busy summer for such a young guy.

In some ways, Delonte West is the kind of NBA player who should be looking overseas during the lockout.

He’s a free agent so he doesn’t need an opt-out clause if he doesn’t want it. And while West makes good money by your and my standards (he made million last season) he is not making stratospheric NBA money — he has a limited window of time to make as much money as he can and taking a year off is not ideal.

But West isn’t going anywhere, and his legal troubles are to blame. He tweeted this Thursday:

Can’t even go get that over seas money.. Judge said it’s a no go on leaving the country…

Remember West was arrested in September of 2009 West when speeding through Maryland on a three-wheel motorcycle while carrying two loaded handguns, a loaded shotgun and a hunting knife. All without a permit. He took a plea deal that included parole.

So West will not be getting any money from a team in China, nor even reaching a deal to be in British soap operas.