Report: Ginobili, Spurs agree on 2-year, $5.7M deal; 'Fire is still burning'
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Wins are currency, and it's a good thing, because without them, Manu Ginobili would be seriously underpaid.
The 37-year old announced Sunday he'll return to the NBA for a 14th season, largely because San Antonio Spurs teammate Tim Duncan would miss him too much. It's also because he has a good shot at a fifth NBA championship (and the sixth for the Duncan-Spurs dynasty), something that's made possible in part by players like GInobili, Duncan, and David West taking enormous discounts to help field the best team possible.
Ginobili will be returning on a two-year, $5.7 million contract, with the second season being a player option, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. That amount indicates the Spurs are signing him with their room mid-level exception.
Coming off a two-year, $14.5-million deal that also stood as a substantial discount, Ginobili's willingness to come cheap allowed the Spurs to land LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency. And with one hand washing the other, the Aldridge signing also helped convince Ginobili to return, as he wrote in La Nacion:
I am very excited about what's coming. The addition of a player like LaMarcus Aldrigde, one of the best in the NBA nowadays, is very important. That's quite a change for our image.
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The older you get, the more you know about the time you have left. I know I want to have fun, to treasure those moments, and at the same time, I want to win. If you win, you have more fun. That's my mind.
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I am part of something very special for the NBA's present and for its history. The fire is still burning. I want to enjoy it. I want to live it. That's all we have in life. I don't want to miss it. Now, with all those new talents that we incorporated, these players that can change the game while keeping our traditions at the same time, I know we can still achieve a lot.
The next Spurs domino to fall is how much of a sub-market deal Duncan has agreed to take, one that should likewise be significant. That salary could determine whether the Spurs have to jettison Patty Mills and his $3.6-million contract, something they'd prefer to avoid given how they've lost a few depth pieces in the maneuvering to clear space for Aldridge.
That depth issue made GInobili's return even more important, and the long-timer super-sub should play a similar role to recent years. The Argentine averaged 10.5 points, three rebounds, 4.2 assists, and one steal in 22.7 minutes last season, still proving an effective bench scorer and distributor despite his advanced age.