Further to yesterday's news about the forthcoming NBA World All-Star Classic tour, coming to Australia, Macau, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico, comes news that LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony will not take part in the games. The trio have pulled out of the tour, citing the hectic travel schedule and a desire to spend time with their families (understandably) as the NBA lockout wears on.

The news follows the revelation that Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook would not take part, for similar reasons.

According to ESPN, Kevin Durant is also unsure as to whether he will take part in the tour. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant, Amar'e Stoudemire and Dwyane Wade are amongst a group that is committed to the tour that takes in Melbourne, London, San Juan and Macau. 

Other possible participants being floated are:

Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler, Steve Nash, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Chris Kaman.

Whilst many Australian fans have questioned why the tour will not come through Sydney, the current schedule has two games planned for Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne.

More details here as they emerge... 

The tour of NBA All-Stars mentioned here a couple of months back is indeed coming to fruition. Australian NBA fans have been waiting with bated breath to discover whether the brightest and best from America would be touring downunder and the latest news indicates a positive.

After passing through Puerto Rico, London and Macau, the international tour will reach Melbourne, Australia for two games, according to reports from Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski today. 

To summarise the details for Australian fans, in short:

What: World All-Star Classic

When: 8th and 9th November, 2011

Where: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Who: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant (these first four are locked in, according to ESPN). A total of 18 players will be named, including 14 from the following candidates, also per ESPN: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Chris Kaman.

Tickets: As details emerge, how to buy tickets has not been announced (nor have prices), however check back here for details, which we'll pass on as soon as they're available (follow us on Facebook below, or on twitter).

The games prior to the All-Stars' arrival in Australia are as follows:

• October 30: Jose Miguel Agrelot Colliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• November 1: O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.
• November 3: O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.
• November 6: Cotai Arena, Venetian Hotel, Macau.

This tour will be fantastic for the fans in the respective countries, will be handy for the pockets of the superstars involved and for promoting their personal brands throughout the world (thus why the tour is not happening around the United States), but will do nothing for the 400+ other lesser-known NBA players who still await a resolution to the NBA lockout. It is reported that each of the players involved will receive a salary of between six-figures and a million dollars (with much expected to go to charity). 

UPDATE: LeBron, CP3, Melo, Rose, Westbrook OUT of the tour

As the NBA Lockout continues to destroy the hopes of fans of the most athletic basketball league in the world, the guys from Jordan Brand, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony want to remind you to continue to love the game. And perhaps you'll see them playing ball at your local rec centre.

Rudy Fernandez (Dallas Mavericks), well known for his dramatic antics on the court (think dunking on Dwight Howard in international play, behind-the-back passes from out-of-bounds and three goggles after huge threes) is currently doing his thing over in Spain. Whilst the NBA lockout is in progress, the Spanish guard is playing for Real Madrid in the highly competitive ACB league (aka the best league in the world that is currently in play).

This amazing shot by Fernandez is pretty much indicative of the type of player he is.

Big thanks to Sarah Moon, co-podcaster and contributor to this site, for the heads up on this video.

Have you ever wanted to be Michael Jordan? Sure, many basketball fans have considered it more than once. Passing dreams are one thing, but how do you think it feels to be one of his sons, constantly being compared, prodded and monitored for greatness?

Over the years, as the media waited for each of MJ's heirs to reach their potential, it became apparent what should have been known already: there will only ever be one Michael Jordan. 

Now, the Jordan boys, Marcus and Jeffrey, show you what it's really like to be under all of that scrutiny as His Airness' Heirnesses. A new reality TV insight into their lives: Heir-Jordan.

Will you be watching? 

(Thanks to the Hoop Doctors for the link)

Michael Jordan videos on the internet number well into the thousands (with good reason), but this mix is one of the better productions I've seen in terms of variety and quality. Thanks to D-Ham and WorldStarHipHop.com, check out this Michael Jordan v Transformers mashup video:

Recently the young basketball up-and-comers of Australia were fortunate enough to have the coaching talents of the NBA downunder. Scoring great Alex English and multiple championship winners Ron Harper, Luc Longley and Horace Grant (uncle to Sydney Kings import Jerai Grant), were spreading the NBA love. During the camp, they appeared on breakfast program, Channel 7's Sunrise.

You can skip to about the 6:30 mark of this video if you'd like to get to the appearance of the players.

These guys should probably stick to basketball and leave football alone. That said, I think I'd probably prefer Russell Westbrook at the QB role and Kevin Durant as the Wide Receiver.

You call yourself a basketball fan and you haven't heard of Arvydas Sabonis? 

Whilst that question may have been asked, dripping with snark, circa 1995, it's simply redundant now. Once upon a time, Sabonis was the greatest baller not in the NBA (alongside Brazilian superstar Oscar Schmidt). A Lithuanian native, he remained in the then-Soviet Union, followed by Spain, plying his phenomenal trade as a "7'3" Larry Bird" (quote by Bill Walton). 

Sabas was a ridiculous player -- the ultimate combination of finesse, power, size and smarts. He was the type of guy that you would create for yourself in a video game and your friends would laugh at how ridiculous it was. 

And all the while, he was not competing against the world's best players, despite being in his prime, dominating Europe with Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania), Forum Valladolid (Spain) and Real Madrid (Spain). Before leaving the Euroleague for the NBA in 1995, after already depleting his body through serious injury in the late '80s, Sabonis put up the following ridiculous numbers for Real Madrid: 22.8ppg, 13.2rpg, 2.6bpg and 2.4apg -- remember, they play 10 minute quarters.

Already aged 31 when he join the Portland Trail Blazers, with a body worn down by eight European Player of the Year awards and countless hours clocked up in the Soviet national program, Sabonis had an impressive (yet short) NBA career by anyone's standards, but light years away from what he could've been.

For a taste of what he was like in his prime, take a look at the agility shown by the big man in this 1986 video from the World Championships of Basketball, where he took on the likes of David Robinson with Team USA. Sabonis was dunking like a wildman, swatting shots and stepping out to nail threes. In short, unstoppable. Most NBA fans would never have seen this agility from him, as they were sufficiently awed by his passing ability, shooting and slow-but-sure low post defence against Shaquille O'Neal.

You know how the rest goes. Eventually he made it to the NBA, he became a fan favourite for the Blazers and ultimately retired when the toll of injuries became too much. And so many people will forever wonder "what if?" I'll say this, if Sabonis had joined the Blazers in any of the years immediately after his 1986 drafting, you wouldn't be talking about any Chicago Bulls three-peat. Imagine this phenom added to the already impressive Clyde Drexler/Terry Porter/Jerome Kersey/Buck Williams teams of the late 80s and early 90s.

But I digress. Approximately a year ago, Sabonis was inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame, and I felt an immense honour just being in the same building as him when he was presented at centre court during the 2010 World Championships in Turkey. Then in 2011 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the tallest ever to receive the call. Great respect was shown to a phenomenal basketball player.

Then, last month, Sabonis suffered a heart-attack whilst playing basketball in his home country, the basketball-mad Lithuania. Thankfully it was deemed non-life-threatening, however it has presented some limitations on what he can do in his daily life. According to an AFP article, the 46-year old has been told to cut out certain activities:

"The doctors told me, 'You can't smoke, you can't drink, you can't play basketball.' So of the things I like, only sex is left," Sabonis told Lithuanian media at the clinic in his hometown, the central city of Kaunas.

"The doctors decided this. I'm a newcomer here so I do what I'm told," he was quoted as saying by the news website lrytas.lt.

Enjoy what you can, big man.

Today we have another guest post by Chris Jackson, of Get Banged On. Chris addresses Andrew Bogut's health. You can follow him on twitter.

We’ve all seen the YouTube video. A video that should never be seen again. The video of Andrew Bogut’s horrific elbow injury has been seared into the memories of basketball fans and anyone else curious enough to check it out. To bounce back from such a severe injury is a monumental task in itself, but to get back to Bogut’s bordeline All-Star, pre-injury form may be an even tougher task.

In an interview with Bogut, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that while Bogut’s continual recovery has progressed, there may always be some lingering issues. From the Journal-Sentinel:

On how is elbow feels after the surgery performed in April by Dr. James Andrews and if he still has limitations: “I will have limitations my whole life, but compared to where I was this time last year, it’s night and day better. I am shooting every day and lifting weights four times a week. My elbow still gets very achy if I overdo training (too many shots in one day), so I still have to be a little bit careful.”

Limitations for life? It sounds like cause for concern. For a big man like Bogut who relies on upper body strength to battle inside and block shots, these limitations could be a worrying sign for Bucks fans and for Australian basketball fans looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Games. Bogut is the cornerstone for both of these teams; their success rides pretty heavily on his ability to be a dominant inside presence on both the offensive and defensive ends.

As noted on the NBC Pro Basketball Talk blog, Bucks fans might be terribly worried hearing their franchise big man saying in simpler terms, “this will suck for the rest of my life.” The Bucks rely on Bogut and this news could be troubling for the upcoming NBA season (whenever that may be).

Looking forward, things may not be as bad as they seem though. Bogut has finally had a long offseason to get in great shape and as he said himself, his elbow is “night and day better.” With this time for him to finally make a run at getting back to pre-injury shape (or as close as he can get) and not having to rush back into the Bucks’ lineup, we can only expect him to improve on his performances from last season.

Bogut didn’t have a bad season last year for the Bucks. Even though he struggled through the NBA season, battling many different ailments, Bogut finished with averages of 12.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and a career-high 2.6 blocks per game (according to Basketball Reference). Not too bad for a guy who couldn’t use his arm the way he wanted to. With the offseason work that he’s done, you can only expect improvements across the board.

Last season, Bogut also had career-lows in field goal percentage and free throw percentage, probably due to the fact he didn’t have full range of motion in his arm. But the fact that his elbow “get’s a little achy” if he takes too many shots, lends itself well to the idea that he’s probably working pretty hard on rectifying the shooting issues.

So it’s not all doom and gloom for Bogut fans. He’s obviously been working hard during the extended NBA offseason, both on his game and on his elbow. Coming off a good, not great, NBA season while battling through the injuries and having the time to get things right should lead to a successful season, whether that’s in the NBA or somewhere else (anywhere but with the Sydney Kings says this Wollongong Hawks fan).

While we may never get to see a 100% healthy Andrew Bogut, a close to full-strength Bogut is still much better than the majority of the big men around the world. Bogut is tough, he’ll battle through the injuries and leave it out on the floor night after night. The elbow is getting better. Things can only get better.

There should be a sense of optimism for Bogut this year. The only way is up.