NBA rumors 2016: Kobe Bryant reportedly declined offer to play for Euroleague's Barcelona
Kobe Bryant retires from basketball right after this season, but like many other players before him, there always is that reservation when it comes to the decision to hang it up once and for all. Some of them take a couple of years off while others decide to give it one last hurrah, either for another league or abroad. In the Lakers great case, a European powerhouse tried to lure in him.
According to a report from the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Euroleague's FC Barcelona offered the 37-year old to hop back to Europe to continue his basketball career. The said offer said to contain the clause that he only will be playing in the team's Euroleague games and not in the minor league games they play in the whole year round.
While it is true that European teams have this tendency of offering former NBA players opportunities to revive their careers, Barcelona's offer to Bryant just doesn't make any sense, at least for the Black Mamba's point of view. For one, why would he risk the kind of legacy he established in Los Angeles, in one of the greatest basketball franchises in the history of the game just to play for another team? Of course, it's a good argument for the Spanish club for the simple reason that Bryant is by far the most popular player in the international scene. If they got him, even for just a single season, it certainly will boost their market and popularity.
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It definitely is an interesting thought, but highly unlikely to happen. Aside from the fact that it is almost impossible to see him in a different jersey, his aging body just couldn't realistically keep up with a grueling basketball schedule in the Euroleague. Who knows, the money is certainly going to be enticing, but everyone knows Bryant plays for the love of the game and he just has that much pride in him not to risk tainting his legacy.
