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He seemed agressive and determined to go the hole. Something that I hand't seem from him before this season.
A reason Ginobili will want to be back
Buck Harvey
The Spurs will want to re-sign the Manu Ginobili of Wednesday.
But that's not the issue.
Will Ginobili want to re-sign with the Spurs of Wednesday?
Maybe he would like to play with a team that can beat the Jazz at least once a season. Maybe he'd like to play with LeBron James, for example, and start over in a new city.
A story this week out of Argentina suggests starting over might appeal to Ginobili.
If he remains healthy, Ginobili will have options. But when it comes time to make a decision this summer, Ginobili will likely remember his past seven years in San Antonio, as well as Wednesday.
Then, he was allowed to play the way he likes to play.
Next summer is a lot of games away. That's why the Spurs chose to wait until then before offering a new contract to Ginobili. Another ankle or leg injury could stop him from being the Ginobili of Wednesday.
Everyone understood this was the status of the negotiations, and Ginobili confirmed this in an interview with an Argentine newspaper. When Ginobili also said he didn't see an extension coming, some thought this meant he was finished as a Spur.
He clarified that Wednesday. What he said “does not mean my days as a Spur are over.”
Still, Ginobili acted as if that were possible. He told the Argentine newspaper his relationship with the Spurs is different than what he once thought it was. He thought, because he had bled and sacrificed with the Spurs, he had something like he had with his Argentina national team.
“But this year, I realized that this is a business,” he said. “At the beginning, I was hurt, but now I understand how it works.”
Ginobili should have understood this when he signed his paycheck. Gregg Popovich preaches family, but the bottom line is unavoidable. It's about winning, and an injured Ginobili can't.
As for Ginobili's sense of loyalty, the Spurs can turn that around. When Ginobili chose to play in Beijing with a pre-existing injury, he had put the team at risk.
So there was likely some friction on both sides, and maybe this makes Ginobili look elsewhere. The Spurs can pay him more money than most others, but Ginobili has never been about that.
He wants to win, and Cleveland could be an option. This new city would come with an old coach, too. Mike Brown would find a place for Ginobili.
But if Ginobili signed to play with a contender, he would sign on to do less. Wouldn't LeBron — or Kobe Bryant — dictate when it matters?
Ginobili has gotten to do that in San Antonio, and he did Wednesday. Ginobili checked in with the Spurs down 12-0, and he directed a remarkable 25-0 run.
“I had no idea,” he said of the extent of the streak, “until someone told me at halftime.”
Just as remarkable, that wasn't enough.
Still, Ginobili ended with 22 points and eight assists, and the only difference this time was that Vitale was on hand to gush. This is what Ginobili has done through three championships, and this is how the franchise was built to win.
He leads in crunch time. Others follow.
Utah knows this firsthand. In Game 4 of the 2007 Western Conference finals, in Salt Lake City, Ginobili scored 16 fourth-quarter points. That gave the Spurs a 3-1 series lead and the defining push toward their last Finals.
Of course, that was the Ginobili of 2007, and injuries have made the Spurs wonder if he will be that again. But the Ginobili of Wednesday showed what is possible.
Both to the Spurs and to him.
He seemed agressive and determined to go the hole. Something that I hand't seem from him before this season.
Manu hasn't disappointed me this season, and it sucked to hear that he doesn't think the Spurs will want him back. I'd love him to be able to play for the Spurs without worry, he's the heart of this team right now in my eyes. He's not perfect, but he brings things to the floor that no one else can.
Without Parker hurt this season, Ginobili is almost the only playmaker in this team, especially in crunch time. If the frontoffice don't resign him this summer, they better find someone with similar quality (giving all he can on court, strong desire to win, cerebral player...)
P.S. Can Hill be another one? (from the signature of the above poster)
Hmph.. if Manu's gone next season, at least we can be sure that Pop won't be trying (as usual) to replace him with a similar player, because there's none, not even close to him.
I can't even imagine this team without Manu...
Its apparent that Ginobili doesn't have the hops or the quick step to finish at the rim like he use to. I'm hoping he will get that back, but I don't think he will. But here's the flip side to this. Despite that he still finds ways to impact the game and help his team win. His heart and winning at ude is invaluable.
Here's the ironic part. The guy who still has all the athleticism in the world (RJ) can't seem to find any way to help his team. Yet he might be the cause of Ginobili's departure. I mean after taking on RJ's contract it would seem hard to resign Ginobili. I think this was the "out" the FO was banking on to keep the payroll in check. But seeing how Ginobili seems to be the one helping this team win, i'm curious to see how this is going to play out in the off-season.
I am not completely sold on this. To me he is just getting it back. In fact, in the last 7 games, his jumper has been off, but he is finishing at the rim more efficiently, including a highlight dunk in traffic.
I agree. I honestly don't think the Spurs will ever find a realistic replacement for him. I think he is quite unique.
I still believe the Spurs will turn it around, including RJ. If nothing else, I would argue that RJ benefits tremendously from playing with Manu. Their combine efficiency and chemistry when both TD and TP were out was outstanding. A game against the Raptors comes to mind.
RJ's contractual situation is semi-orthogonal to Manu's new contract I think. I may be wrong, but time will tell.
Manu's playmaking ability and initiation of the offense was precision at it's best. It's a shame his teammates forgot how to shoot in the third.
If he's gone next season, it will be a massive loss to the Spurs . Im going to miss him bigtime.
I'm actually curious how many teams have had a 25-0 run during a game...and went on to lose the game. That's...remarkable.
Duncan are Ginobili are the two people I can't picture the Spurs without. Some would say Parker too, I'm just not that huge a fan of his. He's definitely a big deal to the team and a lot of fans.
25-0 runs are a lot less effective when you start the game down 12-0.
GINOBILI!!!
If the Spurs don't want him, I'd love to see him retire as a Laker.
i was screaming "give him an extension" from the rafters last night. haha.
i will be super depressed and pissed off if the FO lets ginobili go somewhere else.
Just the thought of Manu going to the fakers makes me want to puke!
And Manu's ing about loyalty and family makes me want to puke. Where was his loyalty to the Spurs in the summer of 2008? Cuts both ways, Manu.
If James goes to NYC (which is likely, unless cleveland wins the le), expect Ginobili to play for the Knicks.
Where was the loyalty fo the Spurs FO when he was allowed to play on a broken ankle for a month last year?
They even made up new medical terms to cover the STRESS FRACTURE he played on from mid February 2009.
The Spurs made a choice.
They decided to go over the limit and pay 29 millions to Richard Frikking Jefferson.
A guy that epitomizes LOSS down to his very last cell of his body.
How can a Manu Ginobili fit in this picture, outside of an existing contract?
Why wouldn't Ginobili want to come to the Lakers?
1) He gets right back into Championship contention
2) He gets to go to a rival and laugh at the Spurs FO because they didn't re-sign him
3) No rebuilding years in NY. NY will need at least 1-2 years to rebuild with LeBron before they're a contender
4) California is more like SA weather than NY.
5) Lots of Hispanics and Argies here in LA.
I guess the decision would be Kobe or LeBron but I don't think there is that much of a distinction.
I'm upset cause the spurs could have gotten several pieces to fill the SG/SF spot at a much cheaper rate. With $14million the spurs could have gotten a young SF thats athletic and a PF/C that young and athletic as well. And if they had money left over they could have save it to the bank for Manu. Instead the spurs have a lackluster SF thats only given a few highlight dunks and still dont have a bigman (6-10 or taller I mean) and are deep in the hole money-wise. Shane Battier makes $7million I think and Haywood makes $6million. Those 2 players wouldnt allow us to score alot like we do now, but teams wouldnt be getting layups and wide open jumpers either. I would even say that our record would be better now. Even if it wasnt, we would be worried about the offense right now. Which is important to winning, no doubt. But at least we would be able to hang our hat on the fact that the defense is solid and that defense wins championships. Would you rather be the 2005 Suns or the 2004 Pistons? Suns were exciting till they found a team that they couldnt run. The Pistons just outworked everyone and found themselves manhandling the lakers. A laker team that was much tougher then(2004 Shaq/Malone/Payton) than it is now(Gasol/Bynum/Odom).
Manu has said a lot of times that he thinks that Kobe is better than Lebron. Either way I think he will resign with the Spurs.
1) Kobe is one year younger than Manu and he also starts to show his age.
2) Manu is a champion, he doesn't fight backward battles. Spurs are a big part of his career. It is clear from the interview.
3) D'antoni went to NYC precisely because of the 2010 free agents. My understanding, and I DO have an understanding there, is that NYC can get Wade and Bosh or James alone (not if Cleveland wins). Add that to Lee, Gallo and some role players (partly already there) and you have an instant candidate to the ECF, expecially with the aging Celtics and no more Cleveland. And expecially with Stern around.
Manu would be absolutely perfect. And I DO know that D'antoni appreciate the guy.
4) Bahia Blanca has a different weather, for that matter.
5) Lots of hispanics in NYC as well. And actually a bigger TV market compared to LA, hungry for a championship since, what 1973?
Can you translate that into Stern language, in terms of Joey Crawfords in Games 3?
You seem to be a pretty alert guy, you know what I mean.
Manu said nothing about family or loyalty. He simply said that he thought his relationship with the Spurs was different than it actually is. I think mostly he means that he thought that he and the Spurs always had an understanding about his playing for his national team. Now, that seems to be the breaking point between them.
I love Manu, but we need to remember that we lost the 2008 playoff sereis to the Lakers because he was hurt. We had an excellent shot to beat them if Manu was Manu, and I believe 100% that we would have if he had been healthy.
Yet two months later he plays in the Olympics, starting practice with the National Team probably a month after we lost the playoff series.
I don't know about all Spurs fans, but I was livid. Even he if he stayed "healthy" through the Olympics, how much damage was he doing to an already injured foot/ankle/ whatever?
Adding insult to injury, we all know the Duncan Window is a finite amount of time, and by choosing to play in the Olympics, Manu cost Tim and the Spurs a chance at a le in 2008 and 2009.
I'd love ot have him back, but I can see how the Spurs would be livid about this as well. After all, when Manu missed the first four weeks of the 2009 season, you'd better believe he got his $900K check that month.
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