De Colo is only 4 or so years younger than Parker. Parker's age is not the issue...he is at prime age. His minutes during the game and the fact that he had to carry the team on his back almost all year are the issues. De Colo is not only playing for the Spurs this summer, he will presumably play for the French NT as well come the fall. The French NT play the same plays as the Spurs because Tony is their defacto coach.
So playing for them is like another development league for the Spurs, and Tony will try to bring De Colo along as his potential backup.
If Tony has a decent backup during the Spurs season, his play for his national team (just like the US players play for our NT) is not a factor.
Ginobili's play for his NT is not the issue either...the way that Ginobili has played for so many years, whether in Europe or the US, has much more to do with his body breaking down.
If we cannot get Tony some decent back-up, he will break down too, but it won't be because of playing for his NT. It will be because our team can't function without him so far.

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