Manu Ginobili Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Notes: DeRozan, Murray, Aldridge, Ginobili

September 24th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan says he’s more motivated than he’s ever been in his career, as he told NBA.com in a TV interview. DeRozan was highly agitated when the Raptors traded him away to the Spurs and while he claims he’s over the disappointment, he feels he has something to prove while moving to the Western Conference. “I treated my whole summer workout with that motivation, that chip on my shoulder. It’s making me more anxious to get out there and play,” he said.

In other news around the Spurs:

Coach Gregg Popovich said during the team’s annual media day on Monday that Dejounte Murray is up for the challenge of becoming the team’s next standout point guard, Madalyn Mendoza of the San Antonio Express News writes. “He really wants to be good, he really wants to be to the team what Tony (Parker) was to the team,” Popovich said. “I’m confident he’ll do that as time goes on.” Murray’s ability to push the ball will force the tempo and challenge his teammates, Popovich adds. “Other players will have to run like they’ve never run before because he’s going to go,” Popovich said. “And if they want to ball they’ll have to run with him.”
LaMarcus Aldridge is glad the Kawhi Leonard saga is over and doesn’t want to rehash it, Michael Bolin of 247Sports relays. “It’s obviously gone now. If you are gonna ask questions about that whole thing, I’m not going to answer it,” the veteran power forward said. “We are happy to turn the page.”
Popovich took recently retired guard Manu Ginobili on his annual coaches’ retreat last week, ESPN’s Michael C. Wright tweets. Ginobili revealed earlier this month that Popovich tried to talk him into playing for another season.

Lack Of Desire Convinced Ginobili To Retire

September 15th, 2018 at 3:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Manu Ginobili admitted that his decision to retire was painstaking and that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich tried to convince him to play another year. “I am very sure about the decision, it’s still awkward,” Ginobili said during a press conference that was relayed by NBA.com. “But my finger shaked a lot before hitting that enter (button). It wasn’t an easy decision.”

Popovich was hoping that he could change Ginobili’s mind but realized quickly that his longtime sixth man wasn’t going to budge.

“He briefly tried to convince me. He saw me very convinced,” Ginobili said. “I guess he saw it right away. He respected my decision, of course, and we had a great talk.”

Ginobili announced his retirement on August 27th. The deciding factor was the lack of desire to go through the rigors of an 82-game regular season one more time.

“I couldn’t see my body doing through that kind of grind again,” he said. “When I came back here and came to workout a little bit to lift or bike or whatever, I saw Bryn (Forbes), I saw Dejounte (Murray) and some of the guys working out and preparing for the season and I was so far from that. That’s when I said, ‘For sure, this is it.’ There was a little bit of that door opened, but it closed pretty quick.”

Ginobili, 41, was the 57th overall pick in the 1999 draft. The Argentinian played overseas for three more seasons, then joined the Spurs in 2002, spending the next 16 years with the franchise.

Over the course of his NBA career, Ginobili appeared in 1,057 regular season contests, averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG. He also played in 218 more postseason contests, winning four championships with the Spurs. A two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player, the Argentinian shooting guard was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2008.

Southwest Notes: Doncic, Ginobili, Bluiett, Grizzlies

September 2nd, 2018 at 3:01pm CST by marksuleymanov

The third overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft, Luka Doncic, will not be part of the Slovenian national team for September’s FIBA World Cup qualifiers, per a Sportando report. Instead, he will remain in the United States to prepare for the upcoming NBA season, Doncic confirmed with a tweet.

Doncic, 19, was drafted by the Hawks with the third pick in the draft but was immediately traded to the Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights to Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick. Given his past success internationally, it was possible that Doncic would have suited up for the Slovenian team before the NBA season started.

With Real Madrid this past season, Doncic racked up several major awards. He became the youngest player to win the EuroLeague Final Four Most Valuable Player award in addition to being named the EuroLeague MVP and Rising Star.

Check out more Southwest Division notes below:

In an in-depth look at the recently retired Manu Ginobili, Gilbert Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News looked at how his presence around the organization made everyone appreciate him. After 16 seasons with the Spurs, the Argentina product announced he will retire instead of pursuing a 17th season.
Trevon Bluiett impressed at Summer League, which paved the way for him to ink a two-way contract with the Pelicans. As Scott Kushner of The Advocate writes, Bluiett is excited about the opportunity and is ready to prove himself. “All I know is that it’s a foot in the door,” Bluiett said. “I don’t look at it as, I signed a two-way so I’m good and everything is done. It’s just a foot in the door to get to my ideal goal.”
The Grizzlies finalized their basketball operations department, the team announced in a press release.

Manu Ginobili Open To Role With Spurs

August 28th, 2018 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

Manu Ginobili will soon be officially removed from the Spurs‘ roster after announcing his retirement as a player on Monday. However, he’s not opposed to the idea of sticking with the franchise in some capacity. As Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News relays, Ginobili wrote a Spanish-language column in the Argentine newspaper La Nacion in which he touched on his possible next steps.

“What I made clear to (Gregg Popovich) is that it’s not ‘Ciao, I’m leaving,'” Ginobili wrote. “My children have already started classes and while I’m in town I’ll be close to the team and the franchise. Maybe I can’t help (anymore) by taking a (charge) or (with a steal) or something, but I’ll try to add in what I can. I have a great appreciation for my teammates, for the staff and all the people on the team and I want it to go as well as possible. If I can help from the outside, I will do it with pleasure.”

If Ginobili wants to take on some sort of role with the Spurs, there’s little doubt that the team would welcome him aboard. When Tim Duncan retired in 2016, Popovich indicated that Duncan would stick around the club in an unofficial capacity and would be “coach of whatever he wants to be.” Ginobili could do something similar even if he’s not ready for – or interested in – a formal title within the organization.

Ginobili, who made his retirement announcement official on Monday, technically remains under contract with the Spurs on a $2.5MM contract for 2018/19. Like they did with Duncan in 2016, the Spurs figure to waive Ginobili at some point in the near future, ensuring that he’ll still receive his salary for the coming season.

More On Manu Ginobili’s Retirement

August 27th, 2018 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The decision by Spurs guard Manu Ginobili to retire was a very difficult one for him, one of his agents told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News. The announcement was made on Monday. Herb Rudoy indicated there were numerous factors that went into the decision, primarily that it’s “much harder to do it at age 41.” Rudoy also cited family and a desire to travel as other factors in Ginobili’s decision, Orsborn adds.

We have more regarding the retirement of the longtime Spur:

Rudoy and fellow agent Luciano Capicchioni praised their client in a statement, which was relayed by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links): “It has been our great pleasure to represent Manu. He has not only been an outstanding player, he has also been one of the finest men we have known. He understands playing for the collective good of his team and will go down in basketball history as one of the best to ever play the game.”
As the franchise did for Tim Duncan, Ginobili will likely have his uniform retired quickly, Jabari Young of the Express News tweets. The No. 20 will not be worn again without permission, Young adds.
The 20 defining moments of his career are listed in chronological order by ESPN’s Michael Wright. It begins with Ginobili getting drafted and ends with him being a finalist of the Magic Johnson award this past season.
Compliments and congratulations on a memorable career have poured in from players and coaches around the league via social media, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays. Helin’s story shares some of those posts.
Ginobili finished his Spurs career ranked fifth in franchise history in points (14,043) and rebounds (3,697), fourth in assists (4,001) and first in steals (1,392). Those are some of the numbers and facts that Frank Urbina of HoopsHype shares about the Argentinian.

Manu Ginobili Announces Retirement

August 27th, 2018 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has announced his retirement from the NBA. The team issued a press release today confirming the news, while Ginobili published his own statement via Twitter.

“Today, with a wide range of feelings, I’m announcing my retirement from basketball,” Ginobili wrote. “IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23 years. It’s been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams.”

It’s the end of an era in San Antonio, where the Spurs have now seen Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Ginobili depart within the last two-plus years.

Ginobili, 41, was the 57th overall pick in the 1999 draft, making him one of the best second-round picks in NBA history. After being drafted, he played overseas for three more seasons, then joined the Spurs in 2002, spending the next 16 years with the franchise.

Over the course of his NBA career, Ginobili appeared in 1,057 regular season contests, averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG. He also played in 218 more postseason contests, winning four championships with the Spurs. A two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player, the Argentinian shooting guard was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2008.

Ginobili, who had been the NBA’s second-oldest active player and now becomes one of just seven players to spend his entire career of 16 years or more with a single time, will eventually be a Hall-of-Famer.

The Spurs had Ginobili under contract for one more season and had wanted him back for the 2018/19 campaign, but he’ll call it a career before finishing out that deal. If Duncan’s retirement in 2016 is any indication, San Antonio figure to waive Ginobili at some point and allow him to earn his $2.5MM salary for the coming season.

Ginobili’s departure will open up a spot on the Spurs’ projected regular season roster — with the veteran guard no longer in the mix, the club has just 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there will be at least one spot up for grabs, if not two. It’s not yet clear if San Antonio will make any roster moves to fortify its backcourt in the wake of Ginobili’s retirement.

According to the Spurs, Ginobili will speak to the media about his retirement decision at some point before training camps begin, but it won’t happen this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Manu Ginobili Seriously Considering Retirement, Will Meet With Popovich

August 22nd, 2018 at 11:14am CST by Luke Adams

Manu Ginobili has yet to make any decisions about his future, but he’s seriously weighing the possibility of retiring, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, Ginobili will meet with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich in the coming days to discuss his future.

Ginobili, who still has one year left on his contract with San Antonio, has been working out at the team’s practice facility in preparation of the 2018/19 season, but has yet to commit to returning, Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter). He has been a Spur since the 2002/03 season, winning four championships during his time with the organization.

If Ginobili does decide to play for another year, he’d be in line for a $2.5MM salary in the final season of the two-year contract he signed with the Spurs last summer. The club remains hopeful that the 41-year-old will decide to keep playing, and is giving him all the time he needs to make a decision, league sources tell Wojnarowski.

Although Ginobili’s best days are behind him, the NBA’s second-oldest player continued to be an effective part-time contributor in 2017/18, averaging 8.9 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.2 RPG in 65 regular season contests (20.0 MPG) for the Spurs.

Currently, the Spurs have 14 players on guaranteed salaries on their books, including Ginobili, so if the veteran guard retires, it would create an opening for another player to make the regular season roster.

Texas Notes: Ginobili, DeRozan, Anderson, Jordan

August 19th, 2018 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Manu Ginobili‘s announcement on whether he plans to play another season could come this week, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Speaking at a basketball clinic, Ginobili’s older brother, Sepo, suggested the veteran Spurs guard is nearing a decision, tweets Spanish-language broadcaster Carlos Altamirano.

The 41-year-old is entering the second season of a two-year contract he signed with the Spurs last summer. He will make $2.5MM if he decides to play in the upcoming season, which would be his 17th in San Antonio.

There’s more NBA news out of Texas:

DeMar DeRozan feels like he has something to prove after being traded from the Raptors to the Spurs this summer, and Jakob Poeltl thinks that should be frightening for opponents, Orsborn relays in a separate piece. Poeltl came to San Antonio with DeRozan in the Kawhi Leonard deal and knows what his teammate is capable of. DeRozan is a four-time All-Star and may push his game to greater heights in response to the trade. “It’s a little bit scary, to be honest,” Poeltl said, “because I know what he can do when he has a chip on his shoulder, when he gets that extra motivation. Yeah, I think he’s going to be ready.”
The Rockets are running into dead ends in their quest to trade Ryan Anderson, according to Ashith Mathur of AmicoHoops. Teams are reluctant to take on Anderson’s contract, which pays him more than $20.4MM this season and nearly $21.3MM in 2019/20. “They’ve done everything short of posting an ad on Craigslist,” a rival executive said. Anderson slipped out of Houston’s rotation late last season and saw his scoring average fall below 10 points per game for the first time in eight years.
The addition of free agent center DeAndre Jordan solves two glaring problems for the Mavericks, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News in his latest player profile. Jordan should help with rebounding and offensive efficiency as he has led the NBA in effective field-goal percentage in five of the past six seasons.

Southwest Notes: Ginobili, Gay, A. Davis, Powell

July 28th, 2018 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Manu Ginobili will likely play at least one more season, but it won’t be because he’s chasing another title, writes Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. Ginobili has been to the playoffs in all of his 16 seasons with the Spurs, but that’s no longer a guarantee with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker both gone. Instead, like fellow elder statesmen Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, Ginobili is motivated by his love for the game.

San Antonio expects Ginobili to make an official announcement soon on social media, but Finger notes that he dropped fewer hints about retirement during 2017/18 than he did in past seasons. He is under contract for one more season at $2.5MM.

Finger cites an old quote from Ginobili, who turned 41 today, that “the outcome isn’t everything.” A desire to keep playing, rather than a quest to add to his legacy, will be the prime motivator if he decides to return to the NBA.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Re-signing Rudy Gay for another season at $10MM was the Spurs‘ best move in free agency, according to Rob Wolkenbrod of Forbes. The addition of DeMar DeRozan should take some of the scoring load off Gay, who ranked second on the team in points per game last season. He also gets another year to prove he’s fully recovered from a 2017 Achilles injury before testing the market again next summer.
Pelicans star Anthony Davis chose not to appeal to GM Dell Demps to keep free agent DeMarcus Cousins, tweets Andrew Doak of WWL-TV in New Orleans. An endorsement from Davis would have carried some weight, but he liked the way the team played — and the locker room atmosphere — better without Cousins, Doak adds.
Dwight Powell believes a playoff spot is realistic for the Mavericks in light of their offseason moves, relays Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Powell became a big fan of first-round pick Luka Doncic after working out with him during summer league play in Las Vegas. “He’s a great kid and you can tell he knows the game and can shoot,” Powell said. “And he’s bigger than I expected. You hear about some [international] guys saying they are such-and-such a height and they come over and it’s not necessarily the case. But he’s a big boy. He’s going to do well for us. He’s going to have a lot of ability to see the floor for us and take command of the offense when it’s time.”

Spurs Rumors: DeRozan, USA Basketball, Green, Ginobili

July 25th, 2018 at 5:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan has decided not to participate in Basketball Without Borders or the NBA Africa game, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN. DeRozan’s former boss, Raptors president Masai Ujiri, is a prominent ambassador for Basketball Without Borders, which will conduct camps leading up to the August 4 game in Pretoria, South Africa.

DeRozan has made critical comments about Ujiri and the Raptors organization in the wake of a trade last week that sent him to San Antonio after nine years in Toronto. DeRozan claims Uriri promised he wouldn’t be traded just days before the deal was completed.

There’s more Spurs new to pass along:

DeRozan plans to attend the USA Basketball mini-camp this week in Las Vegas, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. DeRozan sees it as an opportunity to get better acquainted with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has taken over as head coach of USA Basketball.
Danny Green, who was sent to Toronto in the DeRozan deal, played much of last season with a groin tear that wasn’t diagnosed by the Spurs’ medical staff, relays Kyle Newport of Bleacher Report. In his “Inside the Green Room” podcast, Green says he suffered what he thought was a strained groin in December and he didn’t learn about the tear until his exit interview, Although Green’s agent suggested a second opinion when the injury occurred, Green said he trusted team doctors and still claims they did “everything they could.” In light of his experience, Green adds that nobody should criticize Kawhi Leonard for obtaining a second opinion on his injured quad.
In the same podcast, Green speculates that Manu Ginobili will return to the Spurs for a 17th season, Orsborn writes a separate story. “With the way he’s been working out, with the way he’s been talking, it seems like we will probably be playing against him this year,” Green said. “I don’t know for sure, (but) he’s under contract and it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to give it up yet.” Ginobli, who will turn 41 on Saturday, has one year left on his current deal at $2.5MM if he decides against retirement. He appeared in 65 games last season and averaged 8.9 PPG.