GER/USA - BBC Bayreuth holding talks with Kevin Durant

BAYREUTH (BBL/NBA) - Mention NBA lockout and Germany in the same breath and most of the talk is about where native son and NBA champion Dirk Nowitzki would land.

But BBC Bayreuth has changed all that by confirming about three weeks of negotiations in bringing in NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

The name of the German BBL club first surfaced in a report by yahoo.com over the weekend, forcing Bayreuth management on November 14 to deny or confirm the rumor. And Bayreuth general manager Manfred Schöttner strongly substantiated his team's connection with Durant.

“The discretion with which we had been negotiating with Kevin Durant’s agents is now over with. The fact is that we have held serious negotiations for about three weeks with Kevin Durant’s agents, Aaron Goodwin and his partners in Europe,” said BBC Bayreuth’s general manager Manfred Schöttner on the club’s website.

Regarding the state of the negotiations, Schöttner said “an agreement in financial questions is very possible”.

Bayreuth are also feverishly looking for the necessary funds for Durant's insurance as he holds a contract of five more years with the Oklahoma City Thunder worth 86 million dollars.

“We are also intensively working on the biggest challenge of a possible signing of Kevin Durant, the organization of the necessary contingency insurance,” said Schöttner, whose team was mentioned along with Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel and Spanish side Valencia in challenging for Durant's services.

Durant, who helped the United States to the 2010 FIBA World Championship title, was quoted in the yahoo report that he is considering playing in Europe if the NBA lockout continues much longer, saying: “I’m right on the fence with playing overseas and I’m about to jump over.”

The Bayreuth team website report said that the sponsorship of a Durant signing would not impact the club’s finances long-term or even the budget for the current 2011-12 season.

"We checked to see if a signing would be possible for us. After we received positive signals from our sponsors and additional potential partners, we disclosed our interest to (Durant's partner management in Europe)," said Schöttner.

The GM confirmed that Bayreuth are not using the uncertain situation in the NBA for a PR or marketing reason for the club, which is a fringe playoff team at the moment with a 3-5 record thus far.

FIBA