Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili is an unrestricted free agent, but he does not intend to sign with another team. He has contemplated retirement, but he would certainly like to play for the Spurs at least one more season.
Ginobili wrote an article in the Canchallena, an Argentinian newspaper, about his struggles in regard to suiting up one more year.
“I don’t feel exhausted or frustrated playing basketball, I mean not enough to say I’m done. I don’t know about everything; I haven’t made a decision, but I see it is unlikely that I will not play anymore.
“I try not to let the tree in front of me block the forest. This is practically an unbeatable situation in sports. A moment of anger and frustration should not cloud the day-to-day and how well I am doing over here.
“… I think they want me here again; but I’m not certain because I still can’t talk to the franchise” under NBA rules.
There is no question San Antonio would like to see Ginobili on its roster for at least one more year, especially since he averaged 11.8 points, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals in just 23.2 minutes per game during the regular season. If the Spurs want any chance of repeating as Western Conference champions they will need his effort off the bench.
Even though San Antonio will most likely re-sign Ginobili, it will not be for the $14.1 million he received last season. He will need to take a massive pay cut to stay with the team, especially after his 2.6 turnovers per game during the postseason. The fact that he committed 12 turnovers during the last two games of the NBA Finals certainly does not sit well with the Spurs.
