New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul is open to playing basketball overseas
Already accustomed to international basketball, thanks to his 2008 Beijing Olympic experience, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul this weekend is heading to the Philippines for a two-game exhibition series, and said Wednesday he’s keeping his options open about playing overseas this fall if the NBA lockout persists.
Paul is joining fellow Olympian Kobe Bryant, along with players such as Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher, Oklahoma Thunder forward Kevin Durant and reigning league Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, for two games in Quezon City’s Araneta Coliseum that will benefit the MVP Sports Foundation, a group committed to aiding youth sports.
“The (foundation) over there is all about giving back and helping out kids,”
Paul said Wednesday, adding he committed to the event just in the past week. “That’s something I feel strongly about also. I’m going over there with a few other guys, and we’re going to play. I found out about this through D-Fish (Fisher). He let me know about it.”
The timing of the event coincides with the recent flurry of NBA players such as Paul’s close friend, New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams, signing on with European teams because of the lockout that began July 1. Several of Paul’s former Hornets teammates, including Hilton Armstrong, Darius Songaila and David Andersen, also are heading overseas to play this fall.
Paul had said two weeks ago that he would keep his options open, but more likely will return to college at Wake Forest to work toward completing degree requirements. He left the Winston-Salem, N.C., school after his sophomore season in 2005 to turn pro and was drafted by the Hornets.
“I wouldn’t say this could lead to it,”
Paul said of the possibility of playing in Europe next season, “but those options are open anyway. When I said that (about going back to school), I said I didn’t know. I’m open to all different things.”
NBA players who venture to different leagues during the lockout, especially those with large guaranteed contracts — Paul will earn $16.359 million next season — could be taking huge risks should they be injured, namely the loss of guaranteed NBA money.
Paul, however, said that most players who make that decision would be insured against injury.
“There’s ways to get insured and different things,”
Paul said. “Those are things I’d address with my agent and lawyers and different things like that. We’d make sure all that stuff was taken care of. All in all, it’s just about playing basketball and having fun.”
The NBA stars are scheduled to play a game against a group of pros from the Philippine Basketball Association, as well as the Smart Gilas national team Saturday and Sunday.
Al Panlilio, president of the MVP Sports Foundation, this week told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that efforts to put the game together accelerated once the NBA work stoppage became reality.
“The idea of this happening started when the lockout happened,”
Panlilio said earlier in the week. “The objective is to raise funds in line with our vision of uplifting sports.”
The newspaper also reported that the exhibition could enhance the opportunity for Philippine businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, termed “a telecommunications tycoon,” to purchase an NBA team.
Panlilio told the newspaper that Pangilinan had considered buying the Sacramenton Kings, and his name also had come up surrounding the recently sold Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the Atlanta Hawks.
Other NBA players expected to play include Oklahoma City’s James Harden and Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans.
