duncan228
06-15-2010, 07:53 PM
Parker glad to rest in summer off from French team (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=txspursparker)
By Zina Kumok
For Tony Parker, this summer is a vacation.
He didn’t rush from the Spurs to French national team duties as in many previous years. The star guard is skipping the world championships.
“I felt like it was catching up with me,” the three-time NBA champion said.
“(This season) was the first time I’ve had a lot of little injuries,” he said Tuesday. “Next year I want to come back and be 100 percent for the season.”
He hasn’t worked out for a month and plans to take two more weeks off.
“It’s a good change because usually I get two weeks and then I go to the national team,” he said.
Parker expected friends and fans to be disappointed that he won’t play at the world championships in Istanbul, Turkey from Aug. 28-Sept. 12.
“At the same time, they’ll understand I’m not a machine,” he said.
A representative for Gillette, Parker was in New York to help judge the “Ultimate Summer Job” contest for the razor company.
With teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili getting older, the 28-year-old Parker reiterated that next year is this group’s last chance to win a championship together. That makes June 24’s NBA draft even more important for a franchise that has built itself through smart picks. The Spurs select 20th.
“They got me at 28 so hopefully they can find another one like that,” he said.
The time off has given Parker plenty of time to follow the World Cup. France will take on Mexico on Thursday, a big game for Parker and his Mexican-American wife, TV star Eva Longoria.
“It’s going to be a big war between me and my wife,” he said.
By Zina Kumok
For Tony Parker, this summer is a vacation.
He didn’t rush from the Spurs to French national team duties as in many previous years. The star guard is skipping the world championships.
“I felt like it was catching up with me,” the three-time NBA champion said.
“(This season) was the first time I’ve had a lot of little injuries,” he said Tuesday. “Next year I want to come back and be 100 percent for the season.”
He hasn’t worked out for a month and plans to take two more weeks off.
“It’s a good change because usually I get two weeks and then I go to the national team,” he said.
Parker expected friends and fans to be disappointed that he won’t play at the world championships in Istanbul, Turkey from Aug. 28-Sept. 12.
“At the same time, they’ll understand I’m not a machine,” he said.
A representative for Gillette, Parker was in New York to help judge the “Ultimate Summer Job” contest for the razor company.
With teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili getting older, the 28-year-old Parker reiterated that next year is this group’s last chance to win a championship together. That makes June 24’s NBA draft even more important for a franchise that has built itself through smart picks. The Spurs select 20th.
“They got me at 28 so hopefully they can find another one like that,” he said.
The time off has given Parker plenty of time to follow the World Cup. France will take on Mexico on Thursday, a big game for Parker and his Mexican-American wife, TV star Eva Longoria.
“It’s going to be a big war between me and my wife,” he said.