NBA
Manu Ginobili Is Expected To Return Next Season
The Spurs already lost Tony Parker this offseason. They don’t seem to be losing Manu Ginobili. The veteran is expected to return to the team for next season.
Manu Ginobili expected to return next season, by @amathur90. #Spurs #NBA https://t.co/oD3ex1uNbe
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) July 29, 2018
What Does Ginobili Bring To The Table?
Ginobili is 41 years old and he will be entering his 17th NBA season. You can’t expect a lot out of him but he is still a good rotation player. His presence on this team means so much more than that though.
He averaged 8.9 points and 2.5 assists per game in 65 games last season. He also played 20 minutes per game in those games.
Ginobili isn’t the player he once was but he can still ball. His veteran leadership will be huge this season after the departures of Parker and Kawhi Leonard.
The Spurs losing Danny Green is a key loss too. They bring in a star in Demar DeRozan but they’re gonna need Ginobili to keep up the production much like he did last season.
His block against James Harden in the playoffs last year was one of the coolest plays I’ve seen. It shows that he can still be a key contributor in big moments.
2nd oldest player in the NBA Manu Ginobili secures massive Game 5 victory with gane-savin block of James Harden. Wow. pic.twitter.com/D6Gg3Du7wg
— ?Sky Wob? (@World_Wide_Wob) May 10, 2017
The Spurs have other young guards who could take his minutes but everyone in San Antonio will be glad to have him back. They have young guys you can trust but one more year behind a guy like Manu could be a big part of their development.
Derrick White is a guy to watch as someone who could potentially take minutes away from Manu as the season goes along. He is coming into his second year and he had a big summer league. He was one of the best players in the whole Las Vegas Summer League.
People need to stop sleeping on the Spurs. This isn’t gonna be the same team we’ve watched for the past two decades but they’re still gonna be a lot of fun. With Manu sticking around one more year we still have that last veteran guy from those championship teams.
Credit: Chris Kern