Add Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic to the list of NBA star players threatening to take their talents overseas while David Stern's silly little NBA lockout shuts the door to the game developed in Massachusetts for the foreseeable future.
The former Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy Star told my colleague George Henry of the Associated Press that he could be headed to some country other than the good ole U.S.A. to play basketball next season.
"I’m not at liberty to talk about it," Howard said, "but there’s a huge possibility about me going to China or me going overseas to play basketball."
The Atlanta-native would be the second of a growing list of big-name talent outsourcing their talent around the globe. New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams has officially accepted a contract offer to play in Turkey. And more likely than not, he will play alongside your Atlanta Hawks reserve center Zaza Pachulia.
The globalization threat seems to be the implementation of a bit of "stragetery" by NBA players to let Stern know that they have options other than sticking around and not getting paid while NBA owners such as your hometown (and presently hockey-less) Atlanta Spirit claim poverty.
Kobe Bryant is flirting with playing in Turkey and Steve Nash may be headed to Europe or China.
But it's not just the superstars headed out of the country for a while. "Depth" players who were poised to become free agents in what is increasingly looking like "the year of the lockout" such as Sonny Weems and Sasha Vujacic have already inked deals to play next season and beyond overseas.
Can "Superman" be far behind?
"If I decide to go overseas, the main thing is for me to continue to get better, not to do the things that I normally do, but do better at the things I’m not good at," Howard told the AP. "So I can use that talent to go overseas, working on my skills and staying in great shape."
Who knows Magic fans, maybe Howard will find his long-lost free throw touch if he languishes in China for a while.