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The ankle bothered Ginobili in his rookie year, and it sure did last season. It may have cost the Spurs a championship, too. Given that, he owed it to his employer to rest. There's some loyalty that comes with a $10 million annual salary.
Ginobili goes down how long until he goes?
Buck Harvey - BEIJING The Spurs had no choice. They had to go along with Manu Ginobili.
They had to say, yes, we trust you. They had to accept that the same Ginobili they love in tense moments is the same Ginobili who will sacrifice everything to play with his Argentine buddies.
They had no choice but to allow Ginobili to do what he shouldn't have done.
Now?
It will be the Spurs' choice.
Today, with an ice pack on his notorious left ankle, Ginobili would do it all over again. To defend his gold medal against the Americans, with Maradona in the stands, Ginobili would have played in Beijing if he had to be propped up with chopsticks.
I don't forget that eight years ago we were fighting for eighth place in the World Championships, he wrote on his Web site this week, and did not make the Olympics at all.
He built an international power, and the sea change came in Indianapolis in the 2002 World Championships. Then, just before he joined the Spurs, he and Argentina became the first to beat a U.S. team consisting of NBA players.
That tournament also introduced what would become Ginobili's weakness. He severely sprained his left ankle for the first time, and what followed was telling. Ginobili hobbled out for the gold-medal game.
Argentina doctors should have stopped him, and some within the Spurs organization wonder if this decision haunts Ginobili still. Other bruises have come and gone for El Contusion; this one is as fresh as ever.
When he collapsed here, there was nothing traumatic about it. He drove, LeBron James cut him off and he passed while landing. Athletes with pre-existing injuries get hurt this way.
Ginobili stayed on the floor for a few minutes, then limped to the bench where he removed his left sneaker. He held his ankle with both hands, as if that would relieve the pain.
Within minutes he was in the locker room, never to return. And after the game, without knowing the injury report, the Argentina coach didn't count out Ginobili for the bronze-medal game. He was as optimistic as the Argentines were in Indianapolis in 2002.
The ankle bothered Ginobili in his rookie year, and it sure did last season. It may have cost the Spurs a championship, too. Given that, he owed it to his employer to rest. There's some loyalty that comes with a $10 million annual salary.
In mid-June Ginobili was leaning that way. The ankle injury is worse than I thought, he admitted to reporters in Argentina.
Gregg Popovich saw a crack and went public. My concern, he said then, is that it is going to get worse. He's got to seriously consider his health.
Ginobili flew back to San Antonio shortly after for another injection, but he began to talk about playing again. When Argentina announced Ginobili would carry the flag for the opening ceremonies in Beijing, that cinched it.
Popovich knew he had lost. All he could do was send a trainer to Buenos Aires to monitor Ginobili's workouts with the national team.
Now Popovich is waiting for the medical reports, and he and his staff are anxious. One source said this last summer: If the shot Ginobili received in June didn't take, and if he played and re-injured the ankle, he might need surgery.
Ginobili just turned 31. With or without surgery, how long can he be effective?
Ginobili's contract is up in two years. The Spurs have already discussed an extension, and now they have another reason to wait a year before making a decision. There's no rush.
But Ginobili's fragile status will be part of the equation. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will be the only Spurs under contract in 2010, not counting Ian Mahinmi's minimum deal. That means there's a lot of cap room.
An NFL team wouldn't hesitate. They'd cut the aging, limping player and find someone else.
But finding another Ginobili is impossible. He's been the Spurs' most popular and most fearless.
Still, his style was always going to burn out early, and that's why this summer could be another sea change. Ginobili risked everything when he came to Beijing, and he lost.
He chose, and he was wrong. And now it is someone else's turn to choose.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...l_he_goes.html
The ankle bothered Ginobili in his rookie year, and it sure did last season. It may have cost the Spurs a championship, too. Given that, he owed it to his employer to rest. There's some loyalty that comes with a $10 million annual salary.
we traded sean elliott for getting sick, and that wasn't even his fault
I would really hate to see Ginobili's career with the Spurs end due to an injury.
Dead on article by Buck.
Ginobili made a stupid decision and now the Spurs have to consider all possible options for the betterment of the franchise.
buck harvey starting the pr move
incase the let manu walk
All the NBA teams should band together and sign an agreement - all teams will have a 'You can only play in the Olympics if your team says it is OK' clause into future contracts.
this HAS to go for american players too, so it looks fair.
no way does pop trade manu. NO WAY!!
Manu will never regret playing this year, life is about gambles, you win some you lose some.
Manu in some ways is just as important as Tim Duncan. his value and importance to the team is undervalued for whoever u trade him for.
no way this happens. and whoever says it should doesnt know what theyre talking about.
(and its not because im a manu fan either)
Buck=Waste Of Space
so if they do not meet your standards you kill them?
The Spurs cannot win a le without Manu...unless they can find another "Manu"...
it's not Sophie's Choice. It's a business, grow up Manu fan.
yeah they can
they just have to find someone else by trading his broken done body to a team that likes broken down bodie and get close to = value back
manu is replacable
just like tp and duncan
if spurs get a player close to manu's abilities they will be fine and could easily win the le
people said without david spurs would not win a le and they DID
If it were only that easy.
Your country comes first.
Kobe Bryant is playing for the U.S team, but he also has a job in L.A
He too runs the risk of getting injured.
Stop babbling stupid things
They've won 2 without him... He wasn't a big factor in 2003.
Time to pull the trigger.... and this is coming from a guy who's favorite spurs is manu. But I love the team as a whole way more than any individual player on the team
I'm talking about 2009, not 2003.
+1 I'm a SPURS fan first!Time to pull the trigger.... and this is coming from a guy who's favorite spurs is manu. But I love the team as a whole way more than any individual player on the team
I would trade Manu for SJax in a second.
Lame article
We don't even know how serious is Manu's injury and Harvey is writing an article like he has a career ending injury.
Agreed. No need to jump the gun like this in August.Lame article
We don't even know how serious is Manu's injury and Harvey is writing an article like he has a career ending injury.
Sure he wasn't.
Go take a look at the tape for game 4 or 5 against the Nets, where he has that steal in the closing minutes, followed by a floater over KMart.
He won us that game.
Go ask Richard Jefferson who changed the momentum in Game 6, after stealing the ball from him and going for a dunk.
The problem is that you have short memory.
The funny thing is that he probably already had an article written about how special Manu is in the unlikely event that Argentina would have beat Team USA today. He's just pissing in the wind right now.
It's more likely he had this one about his getting injured ready in advance, since there is no way the US would have lost to Argentina with or without Manu
I'm so sorry to hear Spurs folks reacting like this. He has proven over and over again that patriotism is more important to him than money. I would have thought that folks in San Antonio would respect that, perhaps even understand it.
Ginobili in Argentina is the equivalent of Tiger Woods in America right now. If Tiger had said he would not play for an American team because Nike was afraid he would hurt himself, folks would be blaming him for not being patriotic enough. I respect the guys who play for their countries. Ten million buys the loyalty it buys. It buys, for Manu, all the grit and drive and talent he has every single night of the season for his nba team. It buys a willingness to put his team before himself and his own statistics by playing hurt when necessary, by coming off the bench behind a guy like Finley who hasn't Manu's youth or talent, by never whining or crying when others on the team get more press and adulation. He doesn't owe the Spurs or San Antonio one other thing. He entered into his contract with them, and they with him, as an economic transaction. Manu has more than lived up to his end of the agreement. The Spurs are quick to point out the "business" aspect of the sport when it is to their advantage in negotiations. They, and we, should expect the same from the athletes we pay to play here.
His country didn't engage in a bidding war to buy his loyalty. It didn't have to. He is true to his nation of birth. Isn't that something we should applaud???
Manu got hurt during the regular season in San Antonio. So should the Argentines say that he shouldn't have played so hard for the Spurs because he had the Olympics coming up? C'mon guys. Country is bigger than salaries or nba seasons.
Buck Harvey has really sunk to a new low. I wasn't certain that was possible.
as a spur fan I am totally pissed off at this situation. Ginobili should have never played. Knowing he will not be healthy changes the outlook on the season and it has not even begun.
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