Pounding The Rock - Manu Ginobili's 2014 summer injury sagaFor all your Manu Ginobili loving and San Antonio Spurs newshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/12497/ptr-fv.jpg2014-08-09T14:27:04-05:00http://www.poundingtherock.com/rss/stream/57504182014-08-09T14:27:04-05:002014-08-09T14:27:04-05:00Manu: "almost certain" Argentina career is over
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<p>Here's a translation of the interview Manu Ginobili gave <a href="http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1717042-manu-ginobili-es-casi-seguro-en-un-98-que-no-voy-a-jugar-mas-con-el-seleccionado">Argentine newspaper La Nación</a> about the injury that's keeping him from playing for Argentina in the FIBA World Cup in Spain.</p> <p>That fracture changed his life in unexpected ways. It forced a standoff with San Antonio and led to a huge disappointment: missing the World Cup. Today, Manu made the trip to Buenos Aires to spend one more day with the national team during the Three Nations tournament, but he didn't practice. "I'm not a part of it anymore," he says, with a noticeable hint of sadness and nostalgia. Shortly after being with the team for the afternoon snack, Manu stays behind to have a chat with La Nación while his teammates Facundo Campazzo and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/24219/luis-scola">Luis Scola</a> leave for shoot-around.</p>
<p>It's not just the player's routine that changes. The approval he had asked from the school so that his two older boys, Dante And Nicola, could start attending a month later than the start of the semester is no longer necessary. So he will spend a couple more weeks in Argentina and then go back to the U.S. and to his daily life, looking to face the last stretch of his recovery with the franchise.</p>
<p>Roberto Vartanian, the team's equipment manager, walks by and they share a hug that embodies a lifetime of memories. "For me to do this interview, it has to feature a photo of me and Turquito. Come here," he tells him and then he playfully sits on his lap.</p>
<p>The bond is still strong. That's why "not being a part of it" is so hard. He quickly starts recapping the soap opera that was his injury situation. "From the moment I felt pain, I stopped doing impact workouts and in two days it went away. That makes it a bit strange, because I feel good and I'm still out of the tournament. It's anything involving impact - jumping, pushing off, stopping - that brings back the pain. Right here and now, I don't feel anything."</p>
<p>"The emotional aspect is more complicated. Being here, watching the guys and having them tell me what they've been doing, how things went in Brazil is hard. And now they are going to Europe, which is when the best part starts. But I've processed things a bit now. The first three days were rough but now I'm more at peace with it," he added.</p>
<p><strong>La Nación: In your column you said your last resort was to contact FIBA and ask for a mediator. Did that hurt your relationship with the franchise?</strong></p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21775/manu-ginobili">Manu Ginobili</a>: If it had gotten to that point, it might have because I would have been basically disobeying orders. But I was willing to do it if I felt well and in a condition to play. But when the moment came to start playing and doing impact workouts, the pain was still there. I know myself, this is the third time this has happened to me. I know that when the pain starts, it doesn't stop; taking a day off wasn't going to solve it. The bone has to heal and it hadn't or something else was wrong. During the first training session in which I felt pain, I knew there was no way I could play.</p>
<p>I'm not going to say there would have been not point to it but why call for a mediator when I knew I had a losing hand? If I was going to put up a fight, I had to feel well and know that it was worth it. If I made it to the tournament hurt, the whole thing would have been in vain because I wasn't going to be able to play like I wanted to. Just to be with the team and be able to say "I'm here" -- that's not what I wanted. If I'm going to play a World Cup I need to be healthy, help the team and feel well. When I felt pain I knew there was no way I could play.</p>
<p><strong>Was it a similar situation to Beijing 2008?</strong></p>
<p>That time it didn't get to this point. We reached an agreement earlier. I was six years younger and it's not the same to recover from injury at 31 than it is at 37. So in 2008 (the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/san-antonio-spurs">Spurs</a>) relented and told me "go play and we'll see how it goes." They indulged me. I was happy, I played and in the last game my ankle said "enough." It didn't set a good precedent.</p>
<p><strong>After your situation and seeing what happened to <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/111927/paul-george">Paul George</a>, could there be a change in the relationship between the NBA and international players?</strong></p>
<p>I don't think so. That happens in the NBA as well, people get injured. Something like that can happen while training at home. With the crowd and everything you push yourself a little bit harder and that play from Paul George was unnecessary. But I doubt it can lead to the FIBA/NBA agreement to change. It's not something that happens frequently at all. How often does a player miss a whole season?</p>
<p><strong>And yet some franchises have raised some complaints about it already.</strong></p>
<p>As it always happens. It was shocking and he will be out for ten or 12 months. It's too atypical a case to consider it a real concern going forward. Obviously, I don't think any franchise that has invested hundreds of millions on a team is going to be happy about its players participating in another tournament. But we'll have to wait and see what happens.</p>
<p><strong>Between your absence, Carlos Delfino's and Juan Gutierrez's, the national team has lost a lot of talent. What's your take on that?</strong></p>
<p>The good thing is we are not going through a radical change, in the sense that there are not ten new players. Having Pablo (Prigioni), Chapu (<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21808/andres-nocioni">Andres Nocioni</a>), Leo (Gutierrez), Luifa (Luis Scola) and even Walter (Herrmann), who has been with the team before, makes it so that there is a good group for the younger players to join and bond with the veterans.</p>
<p><strong>You are 37 years old. Are you thinking about what's left in store for you?</strong></p>
<p>There's not much left, sadly. We'll see how much. I don't like to speculate as to when it's going to end. I know I'll play the upcoming season. If I feel like I did this past season, I'll keep going for sure. If I feel like I did the season before, I don't know. More than age, what matters the most is my health and the mental aspect. Basketball-wise, I'm in a perfect situation. I'm with a team that takes great care of me, in which I have my role and I'm not asked to do too much. I'm a leader to my teammates. And I feel respected enough to not have to prove myself every day. So if I feel like I did last season, I'll keep playing.</p>
<p><strong>Are you comfortable saying you'll never play with the national team again?</strong></p>
<p>If I had played this tournament, it would have definitely been my last. As things stand today, I'd say it's almost certain, like a 98% chance that I'll never play again. It will always be hard for me to retire from this team. I know how slim the chances are, so today I'd say that yes, this was my last chance and it's past. But I also felt like I was playing for the last time with the national team during the London Olympics. I knew there could be other chances but I played thinking it was the last time. In my mind, I was retiring in 2012. That's why the decision to play this time was hard for me. Playing at 37 and after a season that extended to June... So because of that, it didn't hurt as badly to feel like this was it.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/8/9/5986225/manu-ginobili-98-percent-never-play-argentina-againJeje Gomez2014-08-02T20:47:41-05:002014-08-02T20:47:41-05:00"Family Business," the Spurs and a devastated Manu
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<p>Every family goes through some rocky patches. In the Spurs family, Manu Ginobili is the teenager whose parents just told him he couldn't spend the summer backpacking through Europe because he's got his senior year to prepare for so that he can get into a good college. </p> <p>After Game 3 of the Finals, Gregg Popovich was asked what he said to motivate and inspire Kawhi Leonard to a career night after a lackluster first couple of games against the Miami Heat, Pop replied, "That's family business."</p>
<p>But what does that mean, exactly?</p>
<p>The theme of "family" is omnipresent within the Spurs organization. For a while now, their ticket drives and fan promotions have been centered around a "Spurs Family" motif, with a clever logo where the marketing department cleverly highlighted the "UR" in "Spurs" so it reads in bold "U R Family." While I certainly don't promote sloppy typography, the point is unmistakable.</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bILG3C8e2vg" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>What's also unmistakable is that, within the Spurs family, Popovich is clearly the patriarch who rules the household with a gentle hand and an iron fist in equal measure.</p>
<p>Pop is well known and respected for his basketball and tactical acumen, but one of the qualities that has contributed mightily to his success is his uncommon touch with players. In interview after interview players past and present have explained that most conversations off the floor with Pop involve anything but basketball. He asks about their families. He talks to them about world events and the interests the guys have away from the game. Pop makes a point of chastising the media repeatedly when they try to make too much of regular season results, often telling them that the game is just a job and there are many more important things going on in everyone's lives.</p>
<p>Though he has a reputation as being a surly curmudgeon with the press -- sarcastic, curt, even a bully at times -- Pop is a different man behind the scenes and away from the cameras. The Spurs are so well drilled in their execution, and their focus in games is so unyielding that people naturally assume that Popovich is some hard-charging taskmaster. Yet the Spurs are more family-friendly than almost any organization in the NBA, with wives and significant others allowed on some road trips. During the past two postseasons Tim Duncan's two children were frequently seen in the locker room tunnel during games and it's telling that even during the Finals that Pop trusted Duncan to cool off during halftime by sharing moments with his kids.</p>
<p>It's well-known by now that Pop quickly arranged for a team dinner at a famous Italian restaurant in Miami after last season's Game 6 debacle, where he went from man to man to offer some words of consolation and even inspiration in the hopes of getting their minds and bodies ready for Game 7. But how much has been said about how the players' families were also gathered at that last supper? In the team's darkest moment, the importance of family was stressed all the more.</p>
<p>In a story for ESPN The Magazine, Ric Bucher infiltrated the Spurs bunker for a week<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/magazine/archives/news/story?page=magazine-20050606-article29"> back in 2005, to expose some myths</a> about the team. Buried in the article is this nugget from Brent Barry:</p>
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<p><i>During each practice, a coach puts an arm around or pats the back of every man on the roster. In film sessions, half the time is spent on breaking down well-run plays and doling out praise. "In most places, you just try to survive a film session, because it's all about how bad you are," Barry says. "I've never seen a coach who has the pulse of a team the way Pop does."</i></p>
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<p><span>Of course, the tricky part </span><i style="line-height: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;">a</i><span>bout their communal philosophy is just how much the Spurs give of themselves in a very public profession. Ever since Pop took over the reins, they've been ultra secretive and very careful about whom they talk to and what they share. Again, the players follow the coach's lead. Pop has turned down every long-form feature request about him during his tenure and has repeatedly refused to write any books about his life, career, or personal leadership philosophies, like so many championship-winning coaches do. He doesn't do paid speaking tours, a la Pat Riley, and doesn't promote anything unless it's for a community charity. When he does give his time or money for a cause, it's never publicized </span><a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/31/5956681/pop-in-oregon-ibakas-lessons-from-the-spurs-nbas-best-franchise" target="_blank">unless someone hears about it through other means</a><span>.</span></p>
<p>And so it goes for the players. Contract information is never discussed and even when those numbers are inevitably dug up through other sources, the Spurs will not confirm or deny them. The team goes out of its way to keep minor injuries out of the papers, with the players being instructed to give only the broadest of details. Most importantly, the team takes great pains to keep players' off-the-floor business just that. If someone is going through a divorce or has some other family situation, the team will not discuss it, to a man. Players' private lives are guarded and highly respected, which is a tricky task considering that the Spurs are the only game in town when it comes to major professional sports. They don't have a baseball or NFL or even a major college team to divert fan attention away from them. Instead, they're the sole focus of the locals 365 days a year. Having a roster filled with international players draws even more attention and scrutiny. The Spurs aren't just San Antonio's team but also Argentina's, France's, Brazil's, Australia's and so on -- and those countries send media too.</p>
<p>How secretive are the Spurs? Well, just about every team closes off practice from the media, but the Spurs don't even make the address of their facility public. I mean, it's not that hard to figure it out, but they still don't list it for the record.</p>
<p>Pop's "family business" credo now faces its stiffest test, after the team invoked a contract clause to keep Manu Ginobili, still nursing a stress fracture in his right fibula, from participating in the upcoming FIBA World Cup. Ginobili has spoken often about that tournament representing his swan song with his beloved "Golden Generation" teammates on Argentina's team and it has to be devastating for him not to be allowed to play. Just the fact that details of their star sixth man's injury came out in the first place and General Manager R.C. Buford shared with reporters the possibility that the team had the power to contractually deny Ginobili the right to play in the tournament seemed to counteract how they do usually do business. On some level there have to be feelings of bitterness, anger and resentment. I'd certainly feel that way if I was Ginobili.</p>
<p><i>You don't mind me playing with a broken leg during the playoffs but you have a problem with me doing it for my country?</i></p>
<p>International duty has always been a touchy subject with these United Nations Spurs. With Leonard, it's easy, as most things have been. He's such an ideal Spur on every front that the easy joke is he was developed in a lab by Pop, has turned down the chance to play international ball the past two summers because he wanted to rest his body for the upcoming season. It's no wonder that he and Pop have come to trust and respect one another so completely.</p>
<p>Virtually from the beginning, the coach, who usually tosses plaudits like they're manhole covers, has made it clear that he envisions Leonard as being the future face of the franchise, and he said these things when hardly anybody saw Leonard in those terms. On a team with three future Hall-of-Famers who all want the ball and feel the responsibility to get things done, it can be daunting for a young player to not defer, and Pop has constantly been on Leonard to reject that instinct, to be more selfish, to attack as though he's the best player on the team. What 22-year-old pro wouldn't love that? To be told that you're even better than you think you are? By the coach.</p>
<p>But then there are more complicated cases, such as Ginobili's. The Spurs' reticence to let him play seems almost hypocritical, considering that Ginobili first came on their scouting radar while playing for Argentina. As ferocious and dogged a competitor as he's been for San Antonio, international tournaments turn him into a frothing beast. At the same time, there certainly is precedent for the Spurs' cold pragmatism. When Ginobili played in the 2008 Olympics on a ravaged ankle against the team's wishes, Popovich was the first one to greet him at the airport when he returned in a cast -- pulling him away from the press and ushering him into a waiting car.</p>
<p>Last season, Pop had to re-swivel the rotation to give Tony Parker forced time off for an extended stretch during the season when it was clear that the previous summer's Eurobasket tournament had taken a toll on him. Guys like Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills have suffered injuries during tournaments while the Spurs front office gritted their teeth.</p>
<p>The challenge this fall for Pop will be having to massage Ginobili's sore leg but rather his wounded ego and broken heart. He'll have to mend fences in some form and fashion and convince his aging star that the decision was objective and practical, even though Ginobili's not likely to see it that way. In his most recent column for the Argentine newspaper <i>La Nacion</i>, Ginobili <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/8/2/5962385/manu-ginobili-translation-injury-clearly-wasnt-fully-healed">admitted he had been set to seek a FIBA mediator</a> to try to go around the Spurs' contractual rights forbidding him from playing. That's how adamant he was about representing his country, regardless of what friction it'd cause with the Spurs.</p>
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<p>Pop will have to convince Ginobili to put all that behind him and to look at the positives: his Spurs family is just as important as his Argentine band of brothers. That he, Duncan and Parker have shared just as many experiences together, the highs and the lows, through the past dozen years. The message could easily be something akin to "take it out on me, but you've got people who love, appreciate and count on you here too."</p>
<p>Yet you can rest assured that when it comes to specifics on the matter, Pop will shove it under the blanket of "family business," lest anyone think of Ginobili as some malcontent. Any private seething from the Argentine will be kept in-house, just as Leonard's vulnerabilities and moments of self-doubt were. Pop has the latitude to get away with things like that -- or even more obvious ones, like the scene during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals where he and Duncan visibly argued yet Pop afterward pretended to have no idea what reporters were talking about. Success and power have their privileges.</p>
<p>With the Spurs, the results of "family business" is a lot of basketball victories -- navigating whatever pitfalls are in the way. The business of the Spurs is family, and as this past season showed, business is booming.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/8/2/5960511/family-business-will-bring-heartbroken-ginobili-back-into-spurs-foldMichael Erler2014-08-02T15:33:00-05:002014-08-02T15:33:00-05:00Full translation of Manu's La Nación column
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<p>Manu explains why he will miss the FIBA World Cup in his column for La Nación</p> <p><i>What follows is the full translation of<a href="http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1715074-la-columna-de-manu-ginobili-reaparecio-el-dolor-en-el-perone-y-eso-me-bajo-del-mundial" target="_blank"> Manu's latest column</a>, in which he recounts the events that led to his decision to sit out the World Cup.</i></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*****</p>
<p>A few months ago, after winning the NBA championship with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a>, I tweeted "I'm in", in reference to the upcoming World Cup in Spain. The truth is I had finished the competition in good shape, I was euphoric and I wanted to be with the guys one more time. I never imagined what was going to happen next. After that announcement, on a routine exit physical an MRI caused doctors to suspect I had a stress fracture on my fibula. A few days later, after I returned from vacation, a CAT scan confirmed the initial prognosis.</p>
<p>That's when things became complicated.</p>
<p>The Spurs automatically asked me to sit out the tournament, but I didn't make much of it at the time. I understood the logic behind their concerns but disagreed about the time line for recovery the franchise's doctors advised for in their report. I looked for second opinions from specialist in the area who told me the fracture was very small and the 40 days between the last game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Heat</a> and the first day of the national team's training camp were more than enough for it to heal completely.</p>
<p>As it's well known, I had agreed with the Spurs to do a new MRI and CAT scan on the 25<sup>th</sup>, to see how the injury was progressing. The local doctors were optimistic and shared their good news with me. It was looking good at that time, but we still needed to see what the franchise had to say about these new results.</p>
<p>There's a clause on the FIBA/NBA agreement about the participation of NBA players in international competition that reads: "Players are not authorized to play or train with a national team when there are reasonable medical concerns about that participation putting the player in substantial risk of injury, disease or other damages."</p>
<p>That clause complicated things for me because it gave them legal power to forbid me to play the World Cup.</p>
<p>The answer wasn't what I was expecting. They said that given the images they had received, they couldn't conclude that the injury was cured completely and therefore there were still "reasonable concerns." So they were still forbidding me to play.</p>
<p>So far, that's a chronological account of what happened.</p>
<p>I thought I had only one card left to play, which was to ignore the Spurs' request and look for FIBA to sort of mediate, to determine if the concern was "reasonable" or not, which is a pretty subjective matter.</p>
<p>It was the logical next step. Even if it would cause some problems between the franchise and I down the line, it was the last resort. But here's when a more delicate situation, and definitely more important for me, came into play. To make sure the bone was healed, I had spent 42 days without training like I usually do, without running or jumping, so as to not put any stress on the fibula. And that caused me to go into training camp in pitiful shape. When you are 37 years old, it's not easy to start from scratch and catch up, so we started to ramp up the preparation once the test results were in.</p>
<p>I started physical therapy in the pool acceptably well but when I moved to the treadmill, that's when pain started to crop up, especially in my right ankle and left foot. I did a lot of physical therapy and stretching and it seemed like the pain was slowly subsiding. But when I started to push my body harder this Wednesday, running and shooting, at the end of the training session the pain in the area of the stress fracture in the fibula re-appeared. That basically crushed any expectation I had to come up with some sort of plan to play in Spain, since asking FIBA to mediate was pointless considering the original injury clearly wasn't fully healed.</p>
<p>I'm very sorry for the bad news. I'm sad and disappointed. I wanted to say goodbye to the national team on the court, with my friends but it's not to be. I'll be with the team for as long as I can, trying to contribute from the outside, supporting them through everything, like I'm sure you will both in the friendlies in Tecnópolis and Bahia Blanca and through the TV during the tournament.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/8/2/5962823/full-translation-of-manus-columnJeje Gomez2014-08-02T12:05:20-05:002014-08-02T12:05:20-05:00Manu: the "injury clearly wasn't fully healed"
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<figcaption>Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>In his regular article in La Nacion, Ginobili goes over the events surrounding his stress fracture and his attempts to play for Argentina in the FIBA World Cup.</p> <p><i>Manu Ginobili posted <a href="http://t.co/KEtF1T94n3" target="_blank">his column in La Nacion</a>. We will have a full translation soon, but here's the meatiest part.</i></p>
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<p>Ginobili begins by going through the timeline of events we are familiar with: the injury appearing, the Spurs asking him to skip the World Cup, him resisting and having new tests done, the Spurs looking at the tests and not agreeing with the national team's doctors) and then writes:</p>
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<p>I thought I had only one card left to play, which was to ignore the Spurs' request and look for FIBA to sort of mediate, to determine if the concern was "reasonable" or not, which is a pretty subjective matter.</p>
<p>It was the logical next step. Even if it would cause some problem between the franchise and I, it was the last resort. But here's when a more delicate situation, and definitely more important for me, came into play. To make sure the bone was healed, I had spent 42 days without training like I usually do, without running or jumping, so as to not put any stress on the fibula. And that caused me to go into training camp in pitiful shape. When you are 37 years old, it's not easy to start from scratch and catch up, so we started to ramp up the preparation once the test results were in.</p>
<p>I started physical therapy in the pool acceptably well but when I moved to the treadmill, that's when pain started to crop up, especially in my right ankle and left foot. I did a lot of physical therapy and stretching and it seemed like the pain was slowly subsiding. But when I started to push my body harder this Wednesday, running and shooting, at the end of the training session the pain in area of the stress fracture in the fibula re-appeared. That basically crushed any expectation I had to come up with some sort of plan to play in Spain, since asking FIBA to mediate was pointless considering the original injury clearly wasn't fully healed.</p>
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<p>This is definitely a blow for Argentina's hopes, but it's also a difficult situation for Ginobili and the spurs. A full translation of Manu's column is <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/8/2/5962823/full-translation-of-manus-column" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/8/2/5962385/manu-ginobili-translation-injury-clearly-wasnt-fully-healedJeje Gomez2014-07-31T16:19:26-05:002014-07-31T16:19:26-05:00It's official: Manu is out of the World Cup
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<p>The progress shown in new tests on Manu's stress fracture wasn't enough for the Spurs, who enforced a clause that will prevent Manu from playing in Spain this summer.</p> <p>The saga is over. Manu announced he is out of the World Cup via his Twitter account:</p>
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<p>Al final no voy a estar en España. Lo lamento mucho. No quería terminar así. Pronto explicaré cómo fue todo en mi columna en LN.</p>
— <span>Manu Ginobili</span> (@manuginobili) <a href="https://twitter.com/manuginobili/statuses/494835835112816640">julio 31, 2014</a>
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<p><i>I won't be able to play the World Cup. I'm very sorry. I didn't want it to end like this. </i><i>I'll explain things in my La Nacion column.</i></p>
<p>For the few that aren't caught up, a stress fracture on Manu's fibula was discovered during an exit physical. The <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Spurs</a>' doctors estimated the recovery time to be eight weeks, which would prevent Manu from playing in Spain. Manu wasn't convinced so he sought out a second opinion from an independent doctor, who was more optimistic and set the timetabe at six weeks. Ginobili talked things over with the Spurs' brass and all parties agreed he would have the tests redone in four weeks and they would make a decision then, after seeing how the injury was progressing.</p>
<p>The new tests showed the injury was healing nicely but couldn't conclusively prove it was completely healed. The national team's doctor was confident Manu was going to be able to heal in time but the Spurs didn't agree, allegedly citing the bruising surrounding the injury as their cause for concern. At this point Manu hadn't taken part in any impact work outs, so it was unclear if he was ready to go or not, but he didn't feel pain, so he felt confident in his ability to play.</p>
<p>Soon after the national team sent the test results to San Antonio, R.C. Buford reportedly sent Menu an email asking him to sit out the World Cup citing their concerns about a him aggravating the injury. Multiple reporters mentioned that Buford had mentioned off the record on Summer League that the team was determined to avoid a repeat of the 2008 situation, in which Manu played injured and had to have surgery. The Spurs were not going to let Manu play and were ready to invoke a clause that would allow them to force Manu to sit the tournament out.</p>
<p>Manu initially resisted the decision and rumors in the Argentine press suggested he was going to have the tests redone once again as a last ditch attempt to convince the Spurs that he was healing. But today, both Manu and the Argentine National Association's official Twitter account announced he was out.</p>
<blockquote lang="es" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Finalmente <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs">@spurs</a> no autorizó a <a href="https://twitter.com/manuginobili">@manuginobili</a> a jugar el Mundial, aplicando una cláusula del acuerdo FIBA/NBA ante la lesión del argentino</p>
— CABB (@cabboficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/cabboficial/statuses/494818352737845248">julio 31, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
<p><i>The Spurs didn't authorize Manu Ginobili to play in the World Cup, exercising a clause FIBA and the NBA have in place for injuries.</i></p>
<p>This announcement puts an end to an impossible situation between a team that wanted to look out for its best interest and a player that wanted to represent his country one last time. There are no villains here; just conflicting interests and a party with the power to dictate the outcome. Because this is Manu -- with all that means for Spurs history -- the situation was beyond unfortunate. All we can hope for is that the disagreement hasn't harmed the relationship between the player and the franchise too badly.</p>
<p>Ginobili will have the full summer off and should be completely healthy to start training camp in September.</p>
<p>The World Cup starts on August 30 and will feature Team USA along with the elite of FIBA basketball. Spurs players <span>Aron Baynes</span>, <span>Boris Diaw</span> and <span>Tiago Splitter</span> will be there. We'll have coverage of the tournament when it starts.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/31/5956935/official-manu-ginobili-not-play-fiba-world-cupJeje Gomez2014-07-30T18:14:08-05:002014-07-30T18:14:08-05:00There's no Spurs conspiracy: Manu wants to play
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CXzYcq23w-jcB7anLrG2bzuJUAY=/450x30:3840x2290/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36289442/450680460.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Andy Lyons</figcaption>
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<p>Have the Spurs been playing along with Manu in order to take the heat in Argentina off him? </p> <p>The whole Manu injury saga seems close to being over. Unless Manu miraculously convinces the Spurs to let him play, he will miss the World Cup. Considering we have such a diverse readership here at PtR, the subject has been controversial.</p>
<p>As an Argentine who not only identifies as a Spurs fan but also writes from a Spurs fan perspective, I've been torn about the issue and been hellbent on trying to be as objective as possible. But after reading some comments and tweets that I considered to be a little misguided, I thought I'd offer my take on a couple of issues.</p>
<h4>The Spurs are not doing Manu a favor</h4>
<p>There's been a little conspiracy theory gaining steam in the comments and on Twitter. I even discussed it with other PtR members and at one point I thought it wasn't so far-fetched. Now I do, and because I indirectly helped create it, I feel like I need to address it.</p>
<p>Basically, the idea is Manu knew from the beginning he wasn't going to play. He went through the motions, gesturing like he wanted to even though he knew the stress fracture wasn't going to heal. After the tests, the Spurs would say they were invoking a clause in his contract and he would save face in Argentina by showing people he was doing his best to suit up. What the Spurs got out of playing the villain was a healthy and rested Manu.</p>
<p>The reasons the theory is not outright ridiculous at first sight is that there have been some little irregularities in the way the Spurs have handled the situation from the start. San Antonio is usually extremely tight-lipped about "family business" yet the news of Manu's injury and about their decision to hold him out of the WC leaked to the press. R.C. Buford made sure everyone at Summer League knew that the Spurs had the power to keep Manu out of the competition. Instead of dealing with this in-house like they normally do, they went public with it. Isn't it possible they did that to make sure everyone knew they were the driving force behind Manu not playing, thus sheltering Manu from the Argentine public opinion?</p>
<p>The reason I commented that I helped create this theory is because I mentioned the pressure Argentine players feel to play. They are supposed to want to wear the national colors and represent their country in Argentina above all else. Part of it is the kind of dumb but harmless nationalism sports often elicit. But mostly I believe it has to do with the fact that our biggest stars don't play in Argentina. Because you can't get the wife and kids and go see Manu play regularly, having him represent Argentina is the best way to feel a connection to him. When someone declines, some people feel cheated.</p>
<p>Regardless of the reason, anyone who lives in Argentina knows the pressures to play are real. With the Golden Generation on its last legs and the crisis with the Basketball Association (CABB), those pressures are higher now. In that environment, Manu asking the Spurs to be the bad guys makes at least some sense.</p>
<p>But here's why I think it's impossible something like that has happened.</p>
<p>There is only one way the whole operation is possible without involving a ton of risk: if everyone knows beforehand, from the Spurs to the national team. Otherwise, there's always the possibility that a slip-up exposes the whole thing and it backfires enormously, causing the Spurs and especially Manu to receive significantly more heat than he would have by simply declining to play.</p>
<p>The problem with that theory is there is no conceivable reason why the Argentine national team's doctor, the coach and the other players would play along. There are enough distractions as it is, with the association's crisis, and no one would gain anything from the ploy. Even when it comes to star power to pressure the association's leaders, Scola carries more weight than Manu in those circles, as crazy as that might sound to non-Argentines.</p>
<p>Now, it's possible that only Manu and the Spurs knew. Maybe Ginobili lied to his great friends from the national team, two doctors, the coach and the entirety of the Argentine media about how badly he wanted to play just to avoid some hate, regardless of how negatively it ended up affecting the national team's chances. Does that sound like Manu to you? It sure doesn't to me.</p>
<p>There is a much simpler explanation that I believe accounts for why the Spurs acted they way they did: Manu has no leverage. He likely retires after this next season, so whatever bad blood results from the Spurs' actions won't have lasting effects on the franchise. He can't say he will ask for a trade. He can't say he won't re-sign. And the Spurs understandably want him to rest now more than ever. Because they know Manu, they know <i>he will play</i> if given the choice, as he made clear once the news about the injury surfaced. So they have, from the start, put pressure on Manu to not play with every tool they had, including press operations.</p>
<p>That doesn't necessarily make the Spurs the bad guys. Manu is in fact hurt and stress fractures can be tricky. I'm sure they love Manu and would love to let him do whatever he wants, but R.C. has the job he has because he makes tough decisions and always looks out for the Spurs' best interest. It seems pretty cold to act like that to a longtime member of the franchise. But from the Spurs' perspective, Manu sitting out is the best possible outcome. So they've acted accordingly, using every tool at their disposal, exactly like any other franchise would have.</p>
<p>Now, the simplest answer is not always right. But in this case, I think that the second option makes a lot more sense than the first one.</p>
<h4>Comparing this situation to other jobs or talking about contracts is silly</h4>
<p>This might seem a bit paradoxical because I advocated for simplicity in the previous paragraphs and now I'm about to ask people to understand how complex things are. So bear with me.</p>
<p>When situations like this emerge, there's a natural inclination to try and compare it to things we know. So people will see it as an employee and an employer having a spat and, in their experience, what the manager says goes when it comes to behavior that could harm the company's future. The balance of power has been clear to any of us who has had a regular job. So Manu is in the wrong.</p>
<p>The thing is, professional basketball player is not a regular job, so the rules we live under don't really apply. Similarly, the fact that Manu is being paid millions is completely and utterly irrelevant.</p>
<p>If the Spurs weren't willing to pay Manu that money, someone else would have been. That's what good basketball players get paid. And Manu could have arguably gotten that money while playing summers, like he has with the Spurs. He is a highly specialized employee, one of the absolute best in an industry in which you need those elite people to be competitive, so teams are willing to take risks. Throughout his career, Manu has had more power than any of us have on our work environment. That might have changed now, but the way he's acting makes sense considering <i>his </i>experiences.</p>
<p>So what about his contract? No one really knows what it states. We know the figures because of leaks, but never the full terms. We don't really know how the clause in Manu's contract, if there is one, is actually worded. If things get litigious, Manu might have a case. Or not. Who knows?</p>
<p>Now, it's completely OK to feel happy about the Spurs' decision. Anyone that is not from Argentina or a Manu fan above all else probably is. But there's no need to oversimplify the situation in an attempt to figure out who's right and who's wrong using personal experiences that simply don't matter in this completely alien scenario.</p>
<p>This is truly a terrible situation in which a lot of us have been caught between allegiances. No outcome is going to satisfy everyone. But it shouldn't be the type of thing that creates unbridgeable differences between people who ultimately root for the same team. The key thing to remember is, things are often more nuanced than we instinctively think they are. And that there are really no bad people involved; just people with different interests.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/30/5949379/no-spurs-conspiracy-manu-wants-to-playJeje Gomez2014-07-28T17:03:57-05:002014-07-28T17:03:57-05:00Spurs deny Manu permission to play in World Cup
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<img alt=""Not so fast there, Manu. Not until you're healthy, son."" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rGscQC4S8Y-qyZ4OlevUyAOZ7j8=/660x190:2660x1523/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36189088/20140615_mse_ai8_121.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>"Not so fast there, Manu. Not until you're healthy, son." | Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After his last MRI scan came back inconclusive, the Spurs are erring on the side of caution.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> have made their decision and, according to Buck Harvey, <span>Manu Ginobili</span> will not be playing for Argentina in the FIBA World Cup.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Spurs sent <a href="https://twitter.com/manuginobili">@manuginobili</a> a letter -- citing stress fracture and recovery time, they will not grant him permission to play <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA">@FIBA</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Spurs?src=hash">#Spurs</a></p>
— Buck Harvey (@Buck_SA) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buck_SA/statuses/493876439805353984">July 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>For anyone unaware of the entire backstory, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/26/5939995/manu-ginobili-injury-fiba-world-cup-spurs-decision">here's how I described it this weekend</a> (with the links to bring you up to date):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>after the championship <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/6/21/5828956/manu-ginobili-2014-basketball-world-cup-spurs" target="new">Manu said he'd play in Spain</a> then a <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/2/5865397/report-manu-ginobili-injury-stress-fracture-right-leg" target="new">physical revealed a stress fracture</a> that could sideline him two months, but <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/4/5871809/is-manu-ginobili-being-pressured-to-play-the-world-cup" target="new">Manu expected to heal faster</a> and still play, but reports surfaced that <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/22/5927461/spurs-manu-ginobili-injury-fiba-world-cup-argentina" target="new">the Spurs and Manu didn't see eye-to-eye</a> about his injury. Then Luis Scola, leader of the Argentine players, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/24/5934159/fiba-world-cup-internal-crisis-manu-ginobili">threatened to sit out of the World Cup</a> because of how the organization had been mismanaged. Finally, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/25/5937343/manu-ginobili-injury-tests-spurs-fiba-world-cup">Manu's tests came back inconclusive</a> and that's where we stand.</p>
</blockquote>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/28/5946169/spurs-cite-injury-deny-manu-ginobili-permission-to-play-for-argentinaJ.R. Wilco2014-07-26T14:08:07-05:002014-07-26T14:08:07-05:00Should the Spurs let Manu decide?
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vhMb30jiM7RWBzn2CgBwVphoeag=/0x100:4000x2767/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36105580/20140615_mje_sq8_212.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>It's come to this: the Spurs can tell Manu to rest and he will have to miss playing with for Argentina this summer. But will they? Should they? And how are fans to respond?</p> <p>In case you've missed any/all of the drama surrounding Manu Ginobili, the Spurs, and the Argentina Basketball Association, here's a brief history: after the championship <a target="new" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/6/21/5828956/manu-ginobili-2014-basketball-world-cup-spurs">Manu said he'd play in Spain</a> then a <a target="new" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/2/5865397/report-manu-ginobili-injury-stress-fracture-right-leg">physical revealed a stress fracture</a> that could sideline him two months, but <a target="new" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/4/5871809/is-manu-ginobili-being-pressured-to-play-the-world-cup">Manu expected to heal faster</a> and still play, but reports surfaced that <a target="new" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/22/5927461/spurs-manu-ginobili-injury-fiba-world-cup-argentina">the Spurs and Manu didn't see eye-to-eye</a> about his injury. Then Luis Scola, leader of the Argentine players, <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/24/5934159/fiba-world-cup-internal-crisis-manu-ginobili" target="_blank">threatened to sit out of the World Cup</a> because of how the organization had been mismanaged. Finally, <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/25/5937343/manu-ginobili-injury-tests-spurs-fiba-world-cup" target="_blank">Manu's tests came back inconclusive</a> and that's where we stand.</p>
<p>We don't know what's going to happen, and whether the great relationship the team has enjoyed with my favorite player will take a turn for the worse. Ginobili wants to play, and the Spurs certainly want him to rest. The team holds the trump card and could force him to sit, but would <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/pages/ptr-lexicon#PATFO" target="new">PATFO</a> do that if Manu's heart is set on playing?</p>
<p>What's a fan to do?</p>
<p>I guess I'll start by saying I'm beyond torn over this. It's hard to take sides and it's hard to not take sides. I'm not calling for the Spurs to do anything and I'm not asking Manu to act against his instinctive urge to go for it. I'm a fan and fans root. But it's like ripping myself in half to root for Manu to get his way and play this summer when that would almost certainly hurt the Spurs' chances next season.</p>
<p>I understand what contributor quincyscott said earlier this week:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I just want Manu to end his basketball career happy and fulfilled. If that means giving Argentina one more go, so be it. He has earned it. If his body is sound, he should do it. Pop and the depth of the Spurs will take care of him during the regular season, and he will be fine come playoff time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And then there's long-time commenter Chilai who went on an epic rant and revealed the attitude of the countrymen cheer for Argentina's national team:</p>
<blockquote>Here in argentina, if you can walk, you can play for your country. It doesnt matter which sport.....an athlete is expected to drag whatever injury to a world cup, suck it in and play. If you get injured in the process....well it was totally worth it.</blockquote>
<p>Which I'm glad he talked about, because it's good to have that out in the open. This environment is the one that Manu lives in when he's home. To them, it's not a Spurs/Manu thing by any stretch. It's an all-or-nothing, nation-before-everything kind of deal. Add to that the fact that Manu knows it's nearing the end for him and he really wants to enjoy the experience of playing with his guys one more time.</p>
<p>For me, it isn't that I care less about him playing for the Spurs than I used to. I really don't want him to play this summer. I want him completely healthy and fully rested for training camp in the fall. I think that's the Spurs' best chance to repeat as champs. But I get why he wants to play. So I'll make myself be ok with it if that's what he ends up doing.</p>
<p>The man has always played as if he were indestructible. His fearlessness is one of the main things that's won him so many fans. And if we are truly fans of Manu, then we have to take the whole package: the guy who gladly plays through injury to help the Spurs win it all, and the guy who wants to risk further injury by playing with his buddies for his country.</p>
<p>There's no separating the two. There's just the one Manu.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/26/5939995/manu-ginobili-injury-fiba-world-cup-spurs-decisionJ.R. Wilco