Barack Obama fundraiser postponed

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The Obama Classic basketball exhibition, a fundraiser for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign scheduled for Dec. 12 featuring past and present NBA superstars, has been rescheduled for an unspecified date this summer.

A letter signed by Vince Carter, Baron Davis and Chris Paul was sent to those who already had purchased tickets to the event notifying them of the change, assuring ticket holders that the game "is on the calendar for the summer 2012."

The game was conceived during the NBA lockout and before owners and player representatives reached a handshake agreement on a new deal early last Saturday morning. Training camps are now scheduled to open Dec. 12, making current players unavailable for the event.

Tickets ranged from $100 to $5,000 for courtside seats. Big donors who contributed the maximum $35,800 could get dinner with the players. The money would be split by the Democratic Party and Obama's re-election campaign.

Organizers considered still holding the game featuring only former NBA players, such as Magic Johnson and Alonzo Mourning, but when several current stars expressed interest in participating at a later date, the event was pushed back.

Paul, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen and Chris Bosh were among those confirmed to appear.

Sources also said Jamal Crawford, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Tyler Hansbrough, Derek Fisher, Antawn Jamison, Juwan Howard, Quentin Richardson, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Knight, Jerry Stackhouse, John Wall, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers were expected to play. Veteran WNBA star and all-time leading scorer Tina Thompson and former USC great Cheryl Miller also were expected to participate.

Ric Bucher is a senior NBA writer for ESPN The Magazine. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Ric Bucher

NBA Reporter, ESPN The Magazine Senior Writer

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• Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine
• Co-authored "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds"
• Full-time beat writer/NBA analyst since 1992