Derrick Rose is close to agreeing to a 10-year, $250 million extension with adidas, according to an industry source close to the situation.

Rose is adidas' only counter to Kobe Bryant in emerging markets like China, where volume really counts. Rose reportedly already outsells LeBron James there.

Both Bryant and James endorse Nike.

Real Madrid's Nikola Mirotic has been named Euroleague MVP for the month of December.

During four games in December, Mirotic dominated like never before in leading his team to a perfect record with wins over three other Euroleague Top 16 teams to clinch first place in Group C and a No. 1 seed in the Top 16 Draw.

He recorded his first career Euroleague double-double, set career highs in index rating, scoring and steals and earned weekly MVP honors for the first time. His 18.5 points per game in December came with excellent efficiency.

Mirotic also averaged 6.8 rebounds per game.

The Bulls own the draft rights to Mirotic.

Following his $94 million extension with the Bulls, Derrick Rose is negotiating a new lifetime contract with Adidas.

Rose could become the highest-paid shoe endorser in the NBA with his next Adidas contract, sources said.

The ripple effects of Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard both being part of the Adidas endorsement family is that the shoe company wouldn't want the two players on the same team.

As one high-ranking sneaker executive says, “Adidas simply cannot have its two signature players on the same team in the same market. … Derrick is the face of that market, owns that market, and Adidas can’t possibly have maximum bang for its buck with Dwight there.

“It serves Adidas no purpose. They need them as rivals in competing markets.”

Howard has an Adidas renewal on deck in the next year, and Los Angeles and Brooklyn guarantee him maximum money.

The Knicks have the highest average ticket price of the five Christmas Day games.

Here are the averages, according to information provided by TiqIQ.com:

Celtics @ Knicks: $516.09
Bulls @ Lakers: $466.02
Heat @ Mavs: $395.97
Magic @ Thunder: $295.71
Clippers @ Warriors: $104.95

Rip Hamilton and Kobe Bryant been battling each other since high school days in the Philadelphia area, and they'll be facing each other again on Christmas Day when Hamilton and the Bulls visit the Lakers.

"I enjoy it," Hamilton said after the Bulls' practice Friday afternoon. "It's fun because we've been knowing each other since we were 16, playing on the same [summer league] team. Getting an opportunity to play in high school and then in the Finals. And still get an opportunity to play against each other [is great]."

Hamilton got the best of Bryant when his Detroit Pistons won the NBA Championship in 2004. He knows that the future Hall of Famer is one of the toughest guys in the league to defend. The key in Hamilton's mind is to make Bryant work for everything he gets.

"Just make it tough [on] both ends," Hamilton said. "Just as hard as you got to guard him, you got to force him to guard you also. It's fun. It's an exciting matchup."

Derrick Rose signed a $94.8 million contract extension on Wednesday.

"He embodies all the characteristics that you look for," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's a lot more than the talent. The talent is the obvious part. Then, when you look at his will to win, basketball IQ, unselfishness, his humility -- I think those are the things that you can build a championship-caliber team around."

"I don't think you can put a ceiling on what Derrick can become," general manager Gar Forman said. "It's scary to think that I think he'll continue to get better and better throughout his career."

Rose didn't seek a player option in his contract, something that was sought by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh when they signed their first new contracts in 2006,

"Derrick absolutely didn't want that," he said. "He wanted a full commitment to the Chicago Bulls and to stay in Chicago. To us, that's really special. He stepped up. The maximum length he could sign is what he wanted to sign."

Derrick Rose and the Bulls have agreed to a five-year, $94 million contract extension, according to sources.

Rose's extension is for roughly $10-11 million more than he would have been eligible to sign under the previous CBA.

The extension will begin in the 2012-13 season and is eligible to start near $16 million in the first year. 

Kevin Durant has become the first beneficiary of the so-called 'Derrick Rose Rule'.

Durant meets the eligibility considerations by being named to the All-NBA first team in 2010 and 2011.

Had Durant not been granted the larger maximum salary, his 2010-11 earnings would have been $12,922,194 and his five-year extension would have totaled $74,302,616. By being granted the larger maximum, Durant earns an extra $2,584,438 this season and an extra $14,860,519 over the life of his extension.

As a result of Durant's new designation, the Thunder are also now over the salary cap.

According to league officials, renewal rates from existing season ticket holders are coming in at the 80-plus percent range, about the same pace as at the start of last season.

“Teams have been extremely aggressive in their outreach,” said Chris Granger, executive vice president of team marketing and business operations for the NBA. “We’re happy with the pace of sales given the compressed time frame.”

The NBA has 10 of its 30 teams with 10,000 or more full-season ticket plans, the same number as last year.

While league officials would not disclose that list of teams, among the clubs reaching the 10,000 benchmark are Miami, Boston, Chicago, New York, New Orleans, and both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers.