Ginobili Regaining Form in Time For Free Agency Summer

Network Bar

Ginobili Regaining Form in Time For Free Agency Summer

Tim Povtak over at NBA Fanhouse believes Manu will be one of the biggest free agency targets

almost 2 years ago Edg5 9 comments 1 recs |

Comments

The Spurs have given every indication that they will try and re-sign him, and they could sign him to an extension before the season ends —

I question Povtak’s source on this – I haven’t seen any indication from the Spurs front office. Has anyone else heard or read anything?

by janieannie on Mar 18, 2010 12:16 PM CDT reply actions

janie, your alot closer to the action than 99.9 pct of us will ever be able to be.

In the past I have suspected that playing for the Spurs is a huge bonus for Manu in that the city of San Antonio has a very large Latino population. Perhaps it helps him feel much closer to home than somewhere out of the southwest.

Do you agree with this assessment and do you think Manu takes this into consideration ?

Crappy teams fear us !

by alamobro on Mar 18, 2010 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree with your assessment, he does love SA and feels at home here, but I think his comfort level went way down when Fabricio was traded. In reading between the lines in his comments, particularly those that were in Argentine newspapers, I think he feels a little disrespected by the Spurs right now. Glamour and celebrity mean little to Manu, but loyalty and respect seem to be key.

by janieannie on Mar 18, 2010 1:42 PM CDT reply actions

+1. I think he was really hurt that they did not extend him earlier on – if they were waiting to see if he regained his form then it would be completely business with no loyalty involved.
My personal belief is that a big reason for not extending earlier is to dissuade him from playing for Argentina this summer, but who knows.

by swgeek on Mar 18, 2010 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions

When the NBA, with the Spurs leading the way, began drafting foreign players, allowing them to represent their countries in international play was a trade-off they knew they would have to live with. And it’s funny how you dont’ hear criticism of US players representing our cvountry. Yes, Manu aggravated an exisitng injury in the last Olympics, and he knows all the arguments about rest being good in the off season. He will factor in all the variables: rest, risk of injury, love of country, new babies, and make a mature decision when the time comes. If he is not under contract to any team by the time to begin working out with his national team, he won’t play because he will lack insurance (Carlos Delfino did not play for the Arg national team last summer because of this). The World’s will consist of five pool games, and if Arg makes it out of the pool, then three more to the championsip game, if they keep winning. There will also be a warm up tournament somewhere, most likely two or three games. The team most likely will begin working out together in mid July, so it’s not like it is an all summer thing.

by janieannie on Mar 18, 2010 5:40 PM CDT reply actions

There is a big difference with US players vs the others. There are so many great US players that each individual player is not asked to do a lot. Also, if a player tweaks something there is no pressure to play through the pain. There is much more risk involved with great foreign players as they log a lot more minutes and tend to play through minor injuries.
On the other hand playing for their country also means a lot more to foreign players than to Americans. Hard to explain, but in the US the NBA is the main goal in basketball, but in other countries the Olympics is more of a big deal.

by swgeek on Mar 18, 2010 6:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Unless this season turns around, I don’t see why Manu would want to be with the Spurs next year. If this season have been bad so far, the next few seasons are going to be terrible.

We should start rebuilding around Durant

by Kondor on Mar 18, 2010 6:46 PM CDT reply actions

Depends. I really think RJ improves a lot over the offseason – Pops is really good at getting on a player about what they need to do. Manu is back in form. George Hill and Blair will only improve. If we can keep Timmeh and TP healthy and get one more decent big man this will be a fun team to watch next year.

by swgeek on Mar 18, 2010 6:54 PM CDT up reply actions

This season was supposed to be the season that changed everything. This is why the ownership gambled on RJ. If this year results are not better than last year results, they will try to cut their losses. Tim, Manu, Dice and RJ will continue to decline, Tony is younger, but I have a strong feeling that he blossomed early, and his best years are behind him as well. Hill, Blair and Mahinmi are no match for those guys, even if they will improve. I see this season as our last chance to win with Tim, Tony and Manu. If it is a bust, we should start rebuilding, which is sad, but necessary. “One more decent big man” won’t help anything, we would need a superstar at this point, somebody like Howard, Durant, Bosh, or one of Gasol brothers.

We should start rebuilding around Durant

by Kondor on Mar 18, 2010 7:08 PM CDT up reply actions