Manu Ginobili Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavs Biggest Threat To Sign LaMarcus Aldridge

June 9th, 2015 at 2:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks are the “biggest threat” to sign LaMarcus Aldridge away from the Trail Blazers this summer, writes Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, citing league sources who nonetheless add that it’s the idea of returning to his native Texas, and not any specific team, that appeals him. Still, the Spurs are either no longer among his preferred destinations or rank low among them, several sources tell Bucher. The Rockets, unlike Dallas and San Antonio, haven’t drawn frequent mention as an Aldridge suitor. The Lakers and Knicks, two other teams that planned to go after Aldridge, aren’t viable options because of their status as rebuilding teams, Bucher hears, while league sources who spoke with Bucher are skeptical that the Celtics, another suitor, hold much appeal.

Still, it’s unclear if Aldridge sits atop the list of priorities for the Mavs, according to Bucher. Dallas, which has apparently been planning to pursue the Arn Tellem client since at least November, also reportedly intends to pursue DeAndre Jordan this summer.

Aldridge doesn’t feel the same way as he did a year ago when he pledged to re-sign with the Blazers as a free agent this July, and the idea that it’s time for a change is driving his desire to look elsewhere, sources tell Bucher. The All-Star power forward can be fickle, as The Oregonian’s Jason Quick wrote several weeks ago, and that’s evidenced not only by his apparent change of heart regarding a long-term commitment to the Blazers but also his apparent waning interest in the Spurs. San Antonio was “near or at” the top of Aldridge’s wish list, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote earlier in the offseason. Bucher reiterates his earlier report that the Spurs are tentatively planning for Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to return, a scenario that would make it more difficult for the Spurs to go after Aldridge or another max-salary free agent. That nonetheless conflicts with what Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote a few weeks ago when he heard that the prevailing belief within the Spurs organization was that Duncan would likely be back and Ginobili would probably retire.

In any case, uncertainty surrounding Wesley Matthews, who’s recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon, “changes everything” for Aldridge, a league exec tells Bucher. The Bleacher Report scribe speculates that Aldridge may be worried about Portland’s commitment to re-signing Matthews, a close friend of Aldridge’s. Bucher mentions Aldridge’s cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that he was diagnosed with years ago, as a reason that teams may be somewhat wary of a deal with him, though it would seem as though the No. 3 player on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings will remain a highly sought-after commodity. Bucher suggests the Blazers are concerned that Aldridge doesn’t feel as though the franchise appreciates him as its marquee star, pointing to evidence indicating that Portland has indeed made him its pre-eminent figure.

Latest On Spurs, Duncan, Ginobili, Leonard

May 19th, 2015 at 1:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 1:30pm: The Spurs haven’t received any indication about what Duncan and Ginobili plan to do, and the prevailing belief within the organization remains that Duncan will likely decide to play again and that Ginobili is leaning toward hanging it up, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. San Antonio’s plan is to quickly reach a five-year max deal with Leonard, which shouldn’t be a problem, a source tells Berger, and then let him join Duncan in recruitment of Aldridge. Of course, San Antonio probably wouldn’t officially re-sign Leonard before signing a marquee free agent from another team, since Leonard’s cap hold, much smaller than a max salary, affords the Spurs greater flexibility. In any case, Berger largely seconds a report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the Spurs will first go after Aldridge, who’s seen as more obtainable, before pursuing Gasol.

MONDAY, 3:43pm: All indications are that the Spurs are planning for Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to return for next season, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says (video link). Team officials haven’t formally met with the pair of mainstays to discuss their intentions for next season, and they won’t do so for another couple of weeks, Bucher cautions. It remains to be seen just how much either of them would demand on a new deal, since San Antonio’s contracts with both expire June 30th. Still, the Spurs continue to plan to pursue a marquee free agent from another team, an enterprise that would require Duncan and Ginobili to take deeply discounted deals, barring salary-clearing trades, as I examined when I looked at the offseason ahead for San Antonio.

The Spurs are reportedly expected to make a pitch to LaMarcus Aldridge before doing the same to Marc Gasol, given that Aldridge appears to be the more readily obtainable of the two, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported today. Bucher suggests that the team will target Brook Lopez, too, though it’s not entirely clear whether or not that’s merely Bucher’s speculation. Lopez has a player option for next season and appears likely to opt out but re-sign with the Nets.

Ginobili, who turns 38 in July, said recently that he’d take the rest of May to make up his mind about returning, and he indicated that Duncan’s decision would have a heavy influence on his. Duncan, whose 39th birthday passed last month, offered little insight into his thinking in the wake of San Antonio’s playoff ouster a few weeks ago. Duncan remains productive, having posted the same 22.6 PER this season as he did as a rookie, while Ginobili’s mark in that category this year, 16.2, is even better than the one he put up in his first NBA season.

San Antonio only has about $34.2MM in salary committed for next season against a projected $67.1MM salary cap, but that doesn’t include a cap hold of more than $7.2MM for soon-to-be restricted free agent Kawhi Leonard. A max salary for Aldridge, Gasol or Lopez would check in at around an estimated $19MM next season. Only five Spurs have guaranteed contracts for next season, so building a team around a maximum-salary acquisition would take some financial gymnastics.

Southwest Notes: Smith, Ginobili, Gasol

May 6th, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Josh Smith has found contentment in Houston after enduring much criticism elsewhere, and the Rockets share that feeling of satisfaction with the partnership, as Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams examines. There’s mutual interest between Smith, who hits free agency again this summer, and GM Daryl Morey in a new deal, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last month, and Morey made it clear to Abrams that he values the 29-year-old.

“I’m not sure what we’d do without him,” Morey added. “He’s been critical to getting us where we are right now.”

Houston will have Smith’s Non-Bird rights to give him a 20% raise on the $2.077MM salary he signed for via the Biannual Exception in December. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

Manu Ginobili suggested that he’s never pondered retirement quite so seriously before and said that Tim Duncan‘s decision about whether to play again next season will affect his own, as the swingman wrote for La Nacion’s Canchallena.com and as Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News translates. In any case, Ginobili, whose contract with the Spurs expires this summer, said he’ll take the rest of the month to decide whether to return.
Concerns about whether Ginobili, Duncan and Gregg Popovich would remain over the course of a three-year deal were in Pau Gasol‘s head when he decided against signing with the Spurs, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes in a lengthy piece on the Bulls, whom Gasol chose instead.
Dirk Nowitzki confirmed that there was no vote that took place when the Mavs decided to divvy up playoff shares without giving one to Rajon Rondo, as he said on KTCK-AM this week (transcription via the Dallas Morning News). “No, we actually didn’t vote. It was just the guys who were there that day got a playoff share,” Nowitzki said. “What we usually do is give a lot of weight to the guys that work for you all season long; the locker room guys, the equipment guys, the trainers, the massage guys [or] whoever you feel helped you get through the season. We usually divide it up and then give them a lot of money. I think that got blown out of proportion. It’s not like it was that much money. I don’t think Rondo would have cared either way.”

Spurs Notes: Ginobili, Duncan, Free Agency

May 3rd, 2015 at 5:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs need to add some new pieces to help rekindle their desire to keep winning championships, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report opines. A top-level player like the Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge, an unrestricted free agent who is still seeking his first title, would bring more fire to the locker room since the team can no longer count on aging Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to give the Spurs that competitive edge, Ding adds. Kawhi Leonard does not have the personality to become a leader at this stage of his career while other players, such as Tiago Splitter, have not developed as well as San Antonio had hoped, Ding adds. Chris Paul‘s burning desire to advance in the playoffs was evident as he carried the Clippers past the Spurs in the opening round of the playoffs, while San Antonio often looked complacent during the regular season and that cost it homecourt advantage in the opening series, Ding concludes.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

Ginobili offered a candid response about his future, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, saying that he sometimes just wants to be home with his family and the decision on whether or not to come back is a very difficult one.“Some days you feel proud and think you did great,” Ginobili said. “Other games I say, ‘What the hell am I doing here when I should stay home and enjoy my kids?’ So it’s a tough moment. You’ve just got to sit, wait, let it all go and then make a decision.” Last month, Ginobili, 37, said he plans to retire either this coming offseason or next.
With mainstays without a contract, next season will likely feature a different look to the Spurs, Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News opines. Duncan and Ginobili will become free agents in July. So, too, will starters Kawhi Leonard, who will be restricted, and Danny Green, who is unrestricted. It’s worth noting, as Harvey did, that despite his age (39), Duncan played remarkably well down the stretch. He had 27 points and 11 rebounds in Game 7’s loss to the Clippers. “He’s a miracle to me at 39,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “the way he plays at both ends of the court.”

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Rockets, Barea

May 3rd, 2015 at 11:55am CST by Arthur Hill

After Saturday’s Game 7 loss to the Clippers, thoughts quickly turned to the Spurs‘ future, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Specifically, the questions were about Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, and whether this was the final game of their long NBA careers. Duncan dismissed questions on the topic, saying, “I’m not making any statements.” Ginobili was a little more open. “I don’t want to make a decision after being a disappointment in a game like this,” he said. “So I’ll have a lot of time. I will sit with my family and try to evaluate what happened during the season, how I feel and if I am ready to go at it again. I guess the Spurs are going to have to make a decision, too, and see what they want to do.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

GM R.C. Buford said the Spurs will give Duncan, Ginobili and coach Gregg Popovich plenty of time to ponder their future, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “We’re not going to rush them,” he said. “They’ll have time to talk amongst themselves, and we’ll have time to listen to what they’re saying and act accordingly.” Along with Duncan and Ginobili, San Antonio has seven other players who will become free agents in July. That list includes starters Kawhi Leonard, who will be restricted, and Danny Green, who is unrestricted.
Two huge moves in December turned the Rockets into a team that could win in the playoffs, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Within seven days, the team reached a deal with the Wolves for Corey Brewer and signed Josh Smith after he was waived by the Pistons. They improved the team’s bench, tightened its defense and brought a veteran presence to Houston for the postseason. “If we don’t have Brew and Josh come to our team, we’re not here right now, doing this,” coach Kevin McHale said. “Those two guys have been fantastic for us.” Smith will be a free agent this summer; Brewer has a player option worth $4.9MM.
Free agent J.J. Barea hopes his future is with the Mavericks, writes Tim Cato of mavsmoneyball.com. “It feels like home for me here in Dallas,” Barea said, “so hopefully I can come back and finish my career here for the next couple years.”

Southwest Notes: Rondo, Parsons, Anderson

April 22nd, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs point guard Rajon Rondo has been ruled out indefinitely due to an injured back, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. This announcement comes after Rondo only played 34 seconds in the second half of Tuesday night’s loss to the Rockets. When asked after the game if Rondo was benched due to his injury, coach Rick Carlisle said, “You can ask him that question. All I know, right now, is that we need everybody at their competitive best. This isn’t about one guy who did or didn’t play. This is about everybody pulling in the same direction for the organization,” Vernon Bryant of The Dallas Morning News relays. Rondo is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it’s growing increasingly doubtful that he’ll return to Dallas next season.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavs‘ path to the second round of the playoffs has gotten even more difficult. In addition to the loss of Rondo, Chandler Parsons is out for the remainder of the playoffs with an injured knee, the team announced in a press release. Parsons is expected to explore surgical options to correct the issue, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
The Spurs have recalled Kyle Anderson from the Austin Spurs, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. In the 2015 D-League Playoffs, Anderson averaged 17.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals in five appearances.
Since being acquired by the Pelicans in February, Norris Cole has become a mentor to Anthony Davis, Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com writes. The veteran point guard also has a wealth of playoff experience from his time in Miami, a valuable asset for such a young squad, Haberstroh adds. “It’s all in the preparation.” Cole said. “I try to tell the guys, it’s all in the preparation. As long as you prepare, which I believe we are, we give ourselves a good chance to win and go out there and compete and fight.”
One Spurs official estimates that there is a 55% chance that Manu Ginobili will retire at season’s end, Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News writes. Other members of San Antonio’s front office believe that Ginobili’s future will depend on the outcome of this season’s playoffs, and that if the Spurs are ousted early the veteran guard would return for another campaign, Harvey adds.

Western Notes: Ginobili, Lakers, Green

April 7th, 2015 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Manu Ginobili says he plans to retire either this coming offseason or next, as he tells Diego Morini of Argentina’s La Nacion (translation via HoopsHype). Ginobili, 37, has spent his entire 13-year NBA career with the Spurs, who he joined after playing four years in Italy and three years in his native Argentina. His contract expires at the end of the season.

“Every retired [player] tells me, ‘Enjoy it, play one more year.’ And, well, I’ve been doing this for 19 years and if it’s not at the end of the season, it will be the following year,” Ginobili said. “Then it’s over and it won’t come back.”

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Lakers coach Byron Scott has a good idea which of his players are still fighting this season and which he wouldn’t like to see return to Los Angeles next season, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes. “I got a sense of a whole lot of them I wouldn’t want to be in a fox hole with,” Scott said. “I think they’d end up shooting me in the back. So I’ve got a pretty good sense of the guys that I think are going to be around, that we will build around, build together in this process and go through it.“
Nick Young has taken Scott’s comments, which he believes were partly directed at him, with a grain of salt, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays. “Nah,” Young said of buying into Scott’s coaching advice to become a more complete player. “I don’t know. I feel like it’s just a target toward me. It’s a little unfair. But it’s cool.“
Gerald Green, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, said he is frustrated with his lack of playing time since the end of January, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. The Suns reportedly made Green available before the deadline, and the Clippers were among teams that expressed interest. Since Green was benched on January 30th, the Suns are 11-18 with Green appearing in 22 of those games and averaging 14.7 minutes in them, Coro notes.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Kyler’s Latest: Love, Monroe, Gasol, Leonard

March 3rd, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The trade deadline is in the past and the focus is shifting to the draft and this year’s class of free agents. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a broad look at free agency for the summer ahead, passing along a number of noteworthy tidbits from his conversations around the league. His entire NBA AM piece is worth a read as he examines the outlook for several teams, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

The Celtics are planning to target marquee free agents this summer, with Kevin Love atop their list, followed by Greg Monroe, Kyler writes. Marc Gasol and restricted free agents Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are others in Boston’s sights, sources tell Kyler. It appears the Celtics will look to re-sign Brandon Bass to a salary lower than the $6.9MM he’s making this season, Kyler suggests, also indicating a likelihood that the Celtics renounce Jonas Jerebko‘s rights. That wouldn’t preclude a new deal with Jerebko, something that Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported earlier that the Celtics would like, though it does indicate that the C’s aim to open cap space. That’s a path of questionable merit, as I examined.
There’s a “sense” that the Sixers will make a play for Monroe, too, as well as Butler, Tobias Harris and Reggie Jackson, according to Kyler.
Monroe, Love and Rajon Rondo are at least willing to meet with the Lakers this summer, Kyler hears, though Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are long shots for the team, the Basketball Insiders scribe cautions. Still, chatter is connecting the Lakers to just about every would-be free agent, including Jackson and Brandon Knight.
It’s unlikely that Rondo gets a full maximum-salary deal in free agency this summer, league sources tell Kyler, who surmises that teams would float short-term max offers instead. A full max from the Mavs would entail a five-year deal with 7.5% raises, while other teams can offer four years and 4.5% raises.
Sources also tell Kyler that they believe Monta Ellis will opt out this summer, which is no surprise given his level of play and the $8.72MM value of his player option.
Kyler also gets the sense that Paul Millsap is content with the Hawks and would like to stay for the long term, though it appears Atlanta is eyeing an upgrade at DeMarre Carroll‘s small forward position.
The Spurs will make Gasol their top free agent priority this summer, Kyler writes, though the team will have trouble signing him if Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili return at salaries comparable to the ones they’re making. In any case, San Antonio was believed to be the team with the most interest in Monroe last summer, Kyler adds.

Kawhi Leonard, Spurs End Extension Talks

October 31st, 2014 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

Negotiations on an extension between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs have met an end with no deal, agent Brian Elfus tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The news is no surprise, since Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported Wednesday that a deal was unlikely before today’s 11:00pm Central deadline. Leonard is set to hit restricted free agency next summer.

“We feel Kawhi is deserving of a max contract, and we are disappointed that something couldn’t get done,” Elfus said to Wojnarowski. “There’s no debating Kawhi’s value. The market has been set. He’s done everything the Spurs have asked of him, exceeded all of their expectations. Coach [Gregg] Popovich has gone out of his way to call Kawhi the future face of the franchise. We have great respect for the Spurs organization, but here, we simply agree to disagree. There will be no shortage of teams interested in Kawhi’s services next year. There will be a lot of contract scenarios available to us, and we will explore them all.”

Wojnarowski wrote earlier this week that Leonard had been pushing for the max, adding that there had been no progress in discussions with the team even as Elfus and the Spurs spoke several times over the last few weeks. Elfus had been in San Antonio this week to discuss the matter in person, but the Spurs prefer to maintain financial flexibility heading into next summer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote earlier. Curiosity about next summer’s free agents and the question of whether Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will retire after the season have led to San Antonio’s desire to hold off on a commitment to Leonard for now, Wojnarowski hears.

Still, Wojnarowski reiterates his earlier report that the Spurs would be expected to match any offer for the 2014 Finals MVP next summer, and the Yahoo! scribe suggests that the Spurs would be more amenable to the max at that point. Several league executives have told Wojnarowski that Leonard will command max offer sheets, but even if he were to sign one, it might turn out to be a money-saving proposition for San Antonio. Leonard can sign a five-year deal with 7.5% raises if he does so directly with the Spurs, but his offer sheets would be limited to no more than four years and 4.5% raises.

Spurs Notes: Ginobili, Duncan, Baynes

September 26th, 2014 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Manu Ginobili understood their reasons, but was still hurt by the Spurs banning him from playing for Argentina in this year’s FIBA World Cup, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News writes. San Antonio wanted Ginobili to rest in order to recover from the leg injury he suffered during this year’s playoffs. Ginobili had a meeting with the front office about his feelings, and he said, “I was hurt, probably still I’m hurt. Of course, I understand why they did it. I just didn’t like it, and I disagreed with it. That’s why I was thinking (about) all those scenarios. But the bottom line is, when I started practicing I was not feeling well. I didn’t think I was ready to compete at a high level, so I had to step down.”

Here’s more from San Antonio:

Set to begin his 18th season in the NBA, Tim Duncan says the chance to compete for back-to-back NBA Championships is what drove him to return for another season with the Spurs, McCarney writes. Duncan said, “There was some hesitation there. But it came back to maybe being able to do (win the title) again. As long as I’m feeling I can, and I feel good about it, this is where I want to be.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says the next stage in the development of Kawhi Leonard is mental, McCarney relays in a separate piece. “I’m probably going to talk to him more about consistency now,” Popovich said. “He’s reached a certain level and if you look at those last three games he played they were pretty special. But to be in that top echelon of players in our league it’s a huge responsibility to have to come and do that every night. The Duncans, the Durants, the James-es and all those kinds of guys do it night after night after night and it’s a huge responsibility.”
The Spurs signed Aron Baynes using their mid-level exception, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).