Hoop dreams? Dennis Rodman thinks he can bring Trump and 'friend' Kim Jong Un together

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

Dennis Rodman is urging President Trump to allow him to travel to North Korea as a peace envoy, according to media reports.

The former NBA star’s plea came after the State Department barred American passport holders from traveling there starting Sept. 1, after the death of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. student who had been imprisoned for theft in the reclusive nation.

Rodman, who wanted to travel to the North’s capital Pyongyang for a sixth time, said during an interview in Beijing with the Guardian that American officials said of his travel plans: “It’s not a good time right now.”

Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have been fraught for months over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program, and Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have waged a bitter war of words.

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North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29 that it said was capable of striking the U.S. mainland, in its latest provocation.

Rodman knows both leaders — he appeared on Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice reality TV show in 2009 and 2013 and his friendship with Kim — who he calls “the Marshal” — has been well-documented since he first visited the country in 2013. Rodman believes the two leaders "are pretty much the same people," AFP reports.

"They love control," Rodman told AFP Tuesday in Beijing. "Ain't nobody got no finger on the button."

Kim — who Rodman calls a "friend for life" — and the ex-Chicago Bulls power forward have been pictured watching basketball games, at one of which Rodman sang "happy birthday” to Kim.

“If I can go back over there … you’ll see me talking to him, and sitting down and having dinner, a glass of wine, laughing and doing my thing. I guess things will settle down a bit and everybody can rest at ease,” Rodman said of travelling to the North, according to the Guardian.

“I think a lot of people around the world … want me to go just to see if I can do something.”

He told the newspaper that it was difficult to picture Trump and Kim having a beer together, but “a 30-second conversation” was feasible.

“I’ve been trying to tell Donald since day one: ‘Come talk to me, man … I’ll tell you what the Marshal wants more than anything … It’s not even that much," Rodman said.

When the Guardian's journalist asked what Kim wanted, Rodman replied: “I ain’t telling you … I will tell him (Trump) when I see him.”

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Rodman also said he wanted to organize a basketball game between North Korea and the U.S. territory of Guam, which Kim has previously threatened to launch ballistic missiles toward, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We thought, 'This would be awesome! The people in Guam are all about it. They love it. You get a team from North Korea, get these guys from Pyongyang. Play it in Beijing," Rodman said while in the Chinese capital, according to the L.A. Times.

E.J. Calvo, the head of Guam's national basketball team said in an email to the newspaper that "this possible game would be a great opportunity."