Parker says he thinks Duncan and Ginobili will be back
For the previous two Junes before this one, Tony Parker was kind of busy in the NBA Finals - a series he's played in five times during his career. On Wednesday, he was quite frank about his feelings on the Golden State Warriors beating the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tony Parker's take on the Finals, the day after: "That we missed a good opportunity to repeat."
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) June 17, 2015
Parker added in the interview with Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he expects both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to return next season for one more run.
"I think they're both going to play one more year," Parker said.
Neither Duncan or Ginobili have offered a definitive answer on whether they'll be back, but Parker's comment echoes coach Gregg Popovich, who figured in May that both would return.
"Paycheck is pretty good," Popovich deadpanned at the time.
The prevailing wisdom around the Spurs is that Duncan is more likely to return than Ginobili. The Argentine swingman, while actually younger (almost 38) than Duncan (39), has spoken over the last few years about difficulties in recovering after a long NBA season.
Ginobili's production has also dropped in the last few years, although the Spurs have done their best to manage his minutes. He averaged 10.5 points and 4.2 assists per game this past season.
Duncan, on the other hand, is still delightfully effective, something probably not seen from a big man in his late 30s since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the mid-to-late 1980s.