The TrueHoop article includes a second quote as well, in which Ginobili says there is a chance he could be traded. He also says that if the Spurs are healthy they can contend, and he prefers playing with teammates who are "experienced and have a high basketball IQ, even if they are a step slower."

This is a difficult topic for me to address. Ginobili is my favorite player on the Spurs. But my first loyalty is to the franchise. I believe that if a team is going to succeed it can only have so many sacred cows. It’s dangerous to have more than one player at a time who has so deeply contributed to the team’s past success that they are now untouchable. And in San Antonio that player is Tim Duncan.

In my colder moments, I have said that Ginobili should be traded, or that we should let his contract expire. That between his age and his continuing health concerns, our best chance for a fifth ring lies elsewhere.

But now that I have heard him address it directly, it’s difficult to even consider. I feel like it’s 1941 and I’m sitting at the kitchen table with my brother as he stares down an unopened letter from the War Department. I may believe the cause is just, but now that the possibility of his departure has been made flesh, and I am reminded that the final decision is not his, It’s deeply unsettling. No matter what broader logic may buttress the moment, all I can think is, "Don’t go."

I feel sick.

If only we could find some young stud in Greece who’s acquisition could potentially offset the emotional disaster of losing Manu. What a world that would be.

Thanks for the warning, C. However, I live in San Antonio… it’s on all the local sportscasts. I will now have to listen to this crap until camp opens.

yeah me…