Manu Ginobili Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Sterling, Singleton, Lee, Childress

August 11th, 2014 at 12:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The idea of limiting international play to those age 23 and under still has its supporters within NBA organizations, but there’s little push for making such a change, reports David Aldridge of TNT, who writes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Two owners who’ve watched their players take part in competitions for their national teams on many occasions tell Aldridge that Paul George‘s injury hasn’t changed their opinions.

“I’d rather have them with Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] and a first class staff than in their high school gyms,” one owner said to Aldridge. “If it happened playing pickup he wouldn’t have gotten immediate medical attention. [I] fully support USA Basketball and what it means for the game globally.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

A desire to let the legal process play out with charges brought against Donald Sterling in the past was partly behind the league’s unwillingness to oust the Clippers owner during former commissioner David Stern’s tenure, as Stern indicated to Aldridge for the same piece. Stern also suggested that the myriad of other issues the NBA dealt with during his tenure crowded the league’s agenda.
Free agents Chris Singleton and Malcolm Lee will be working out in front of NBA team officials today, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).
Swingman Josh Childress is considering an offer from the Sydney Kings of Australia, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Childress played four games this past season for the Pelicans, who released him in December.
Manu Ginobili continues to debate whether or not to play beyond the coming season, as he told Juan Manuel Trenado and Xavier Prieto Astigarraga La Nacion (translation via J.J. Gomez of Pounding the Rock; hat tip to Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News). The Spurs kept Ginobili from playing for Argentina this year, but he’s not upset, and said that the Spurs might have been too lenient in letting him play during past summers, as he also expressed in the interview.
Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss has officially signed with Barcelona, as expected, the team announced (translation via (Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s a two-year deal.

Paul George To Miss Season

August 6th, 2014 at 8:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

WEDNESDAY, 8:04pm: The Pacers will apply for the disabled player exception, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. This confirms that Indiana has ruled George out for the season. The exception requires medical prognosis of a player’s absence for the entire year. If granted the exception, the Pacers will have $5.305MM to spend to replace George through free agency. The exception doesn’t reduce George’s cap hit, meaning Indiana is unlikely to use the full exception and exceed the luxury tax line. Applying for, receiving, or using that exception will not preclude George from returning in 2014/15, should he make an unexpected speedy recovery.

SATURDAY, 8:33am: Sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that doctors believe Pacers swingman Paul George is likely to miss all of next season after suffering a horrific injury to his right leg early in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Team USA intra-squad scrimmage in Las Vegas. No official prognosis has been given yet.

The injury occurred when George attempted to block a transition layup by James Harden, and George’s leg came down awkwardly and buckled as he knocked into the basket stanchion. George then remained down on the court as trainers, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski and members of George’s family who were present rushed to his side. His leg was placed into an air cast and after approximately 15 minutes, George was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and surgery. The scrimmage was then cancelled in light of the devastating turn of events.

In a statement released after surgery was completed, posted by Windhorst, USA Basketball confirmed that George suffered an open tibia-fibula fracture and is expected to remain hospitalized for about three days. Windhorst’s sources also informed him that there didn’t appear to be additional damage besides the fractures. Dr. Riley Williams, a Team USA orthopedist who also works with the Nets, was with George, notes Windhorst.

The most recent example of a similar injury and possible recovery time is the leg injury that then Louisville guard Kevin Ware suffered during the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Ware missed roughly nine months of action, then returned to the court during the 2013/14 season, but after nine games decided to redshirt the remainder of the season to allow the leg to fully heal.

The injury to George has already caused a number of NBA owners and GM’s to rethink their stance on letting their star players participate in international play, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). One GM told Wojnarowski that this would be a “game changer” going forward. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) notes that the current NBA deal with FIBA states that teams can’t bar players from international competition unless there’s “reasonable medical concern” going in. This was recently demonstrated when the Spurs denied Manu Ginobili permission to participate in the FIBA World Cup due to the recovery time needed for the stress fracture in his leg.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo wouldn’t comment on the specifics of the injury, or the impact on participation in USA Basketball, writes Windhorst. But Colangelo did say, “This is a tough blow, not only for USA basketball but for the Indiana Pacers. And so as an organization we’re just going to let a little time go by here before we address rosters. … It seems so unimportant in the scheme of things. When you have something like this, it puts things in perspective.”

The team had planned to reduce the 20-player pool to 14 or 15 players today but put off those plans after George’s injury, notes Windhorst. Coach Krzyzewski said in regards to those plans, “Everything’s on hold, and it should be. It would be so inappropriate for us to talk about anything else when there is an injury like this.”

As for the impact on the Pacers, if George is indeed out for the season, then Indiana would be able to apply for a disabled player exception. The exception would be equivalent to the amount of the $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception. Disabled player exceptions are for either half the player’s salary or the mid-level, whichever is less–which in this case would be the mid-level seeing as George is scheduled to make $15,937,290 during the 2014/15 season. But the Pacers would be unlikely to use the entire disabled player exception due to them being roughly $2MM shy of the tax line.

Western Notes: Rubio, Nash, Thompson

July 28th, 2014 at 8:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wolves are willing to give Ricky Rubio an extension similar to the four-year, $44MM extension Stephen Curry signed with the Warriors two years ago, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Rubio and agent Dan Fegan are asking for the max over five seasons. We took a look at Rubio and other extension candidates earlier today.

Ginobili Plans To Play ‘One [Or] Two More Years’

June 15th, 2014 at 1:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Spurs are far from finished and the same can be said of Manu Ginobili‘s career. The 36-year-old recently sat down with NBA Inside Stuff and told host Kristen Ledlow (video link) that he expects to play “one, two more years”.

There’s been retirement talk surrounding both Ginobili and teammate Tim Duncan all season long. Duncan previously made it known that he could see himself playing for a “couple” more years but indicated this week that nothing has been decided. If everything goes according to plan, however, it sounds like we’ll be able to enjoy the core of Duncan, Ginobili, and Tony Parker through the 2015/16 season. Assuming the elder statesmen stick around, the only variable left will be re-signing the trio to new contracts. All three are set to hit the open market after the 2014/15 season. Coach Gregg Popovich, 65, figures to stay in the mix as well as he has said that he’d like to continue beyond this year.

In 68 regular season games this year, Ginobili averaged 12.3 PPG and 4.3 APG and posted a PER of 20.0. He’s stepped it up even more in the postseason, helping to bring the Spurs within one game of their fifth NBA title.

Spurs Notes: Ginobili, Popovich, Duncan

June 14th, 2014 at 5:48pm CST by Cray Allred

Earlier today, we learned that Tim Duncan could receive an unconventional raise next season. An extra $361,446 will be added to Duncan’s player option to bring the contract within CBA rules. Here’s more from San Antonio:

Manu Ginobili refuted the idea that he, Duncan, and Gregg Popovich would all retire if the Spurs won the 2013/14 championship, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “You have no data to support that,” said Ginobili. “You haven’t talked to any of us to support that.“
In fact, Popovich told reporters, including Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, that he still wants to coach next season. Duncan, on the other hand, says he hasn’t made up his mind on whether he’ll return or not next year, but he indicated he feels good about it now, as Golliver passes along.
In a Q&A with Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News, Spurs GM R.C. Buford joked that he might retire if and when Duncan and Popovich hang it up. “There have been worse ideas. I might not show back up,” Buford said. “What will it be like [when those two are gone]? It will be numbing and changing. Those are the people we’ve worked with and battled with, and committed ourselves to as they’ve committed to us.”
Buford downplayed San Antonio’s advanced international scouting as the significant cause for the Spurs’ sustained success, but did acknowledge how the team has benefited from international players. “I think the key has been [to] take advantage of the advantages that are available to us and not put any boundaries around where we can find basketball players,” said Buford. “Fortunately we have a coach who has not only a great appreciation for them as players, but as people and the contributions they’ve made to our culture.”

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Buford, Popovich, Chandler

April 15th, 2014 at 11:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Spurs GM R.C. Buford is “incredibly happy” in San Antonio and has no intention of leaving even as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili near retirement age, as Buford tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe (audio link; transcription via Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News). McCarney, in the intro to his transcription, notes that Gregg Popovich has backed away from his assertion a year ago that he’ll retire when Duncan does, referring to Popovich’s remark as merely a joke.

Here are more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes:

On the idea that the Knicks might be focusing on the summer 2015 rather than be competitive next season, Tyson Chandler hopes that it isn’t the case: “I definitely don’t want to waste another season….I’m not into wasting seasons. Your time is too short in this league and I want to win a championship, another one” (Marc Berman of the New York Post reports). Berman adds that with his expiring contract and ability to still play at a high level, Chandler could be Phil Jackson‘s number one trading chip this summer.
It appears that soon-to-be restricted free agent Gordon Hayward would like to stay with the Jazz, but he acknowledges that nothing’s certain at this point, notes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Currently without a contract after July, Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin isn’t ready to field questions about his impending future just yet, writes Falk in a separate piece. Corbin elaborated: “I don’t know if that’s a good question to ask right now…I have a lot of evaluating to do that I want to do for myself and figure out what’s my next step.”
The Rockets have recalled Robert Covington and Isaiah Canaan from the D-League, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Melvin Ely‘s contract with the Pelicans runs through next season with non-guaranteed salary, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for the Score. The ninth-year veteran’s minimum salary he’d get makes him a trade chip in the same manner that Scotty Hopson is for the Cavs, but Ely comes much more cheaply, as Deeks points out.
Deeks also reports that the Bulls’ deal with Louis Amundson, like teammates Ronnie Brewer and Mike James, covers next season with non-guaranteed salary.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Tony Parker Says Duncan, Ginobili Will Return

April 4th, 2014 at 9:25am CST by Chuck Myron

Tim Duncan has said on multiple occasions over the last two months that he hasn’t decided whether to return for 2014/15, but Tony Parker tells Christophe Brouet of the French website Basket-Infos that he knows that Duncan and Manu Ginobili will play next season (translation via HoopsHype). Ginobili said recently that he’s “pretty sure” he’ll continue his NBA career for another year, so Parker’s statement looks like a reiteration of that.

Parker prefaces his remark by mentioning that Duncan and Ginobili are under contract for next season, so while the point guard is no doubt close to his long-time teammates, he could merely be making an assumption based on their deals with the Spurs. Still, Duncan has a player option for next season, so that’s led to inherent uncertainty. Parker may also merely be attempting to encourage Duncan and Ginobili to return. Gregg Popovich suggested nearly a year ago that he’d retire from coaching whenever Duncan does, so the Big Fundamental’s decision could have an earth-shattering effect on Parker and the rest of the Spurs.

Duncan turns 38 in three weeks, while Ginobili will be 37 in July. Both remain productive players, and the Spurs are as strong as ever, having compiled the league’s best record this season and a 19-game winning streak that ended Thursday night against the Thunder. Parker, Duncan and Ginobili have been teammates since the 2002/03 season, though Parker, who’ll turn 32 in May, is the youngest of the trio by far, and he recently said he plans to play five or six more seasons in the NBA.

Spurs Rumors: Ginobili, Duncan, Spurs

March 24th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Zachary Links

A look at the Spurs as they face the Sixers on their home floor tonight..

Manu Ginobili wasn’t sure he’d play both seasons of his two-year deal when he re-signed with the Spurs this summer, but now he’s “pretty sure” he’s going to return for 2014/15, as he tells Sam Amick of USA Today.
When asked if he’d honor his contract through next season, Spurs star Tim Duncan said he’s taking it “game by game,” notes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Duncan, who turns 38 next month, is averaging 15 PPG and 10 RPG with a career-low PER of 21.1. Even if they’re not his best numbers, it’s clear that the big man still has lots of quality basketball left.
While with the Spurs, Sixers coach Brett Brown watched Gary Neal and Danny Green, among others, thrive in the NBA after leaving Europe. Now, Brown is looking to do the same in Philly, writes Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. This morning, the Sixers welcomed guard Casper Ware, who just finished up his second consecutive season in Italy.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Rumors: Young, Pelicans, Belinelli

October 28th, 2013 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Southwest Division could be the NBA’s toughest this year, with five teams that have legitimate playoff hopes. The two Southwest clubs that played for the conference title last year, the Spurs and Grizzlies, meet for a rematch on Wednesday in the first of a season of key clashes. Here’s more from the Southwest:

B.J. Young drew interest from the Sixers and Lakers before deciding to join the Rockets for camp, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. He was the first player the Rockets cut from their training camp roster, hitting waivers nearly a month ago, but he’ll sign a deal with Houston’s D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Charania adds. Since he’s apparently signing directly with the Vipers instead of entering the D-League draft, that means the Rockets made him one of the three camp cuts whose D-League rights they can protect.
Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday are the major new arrivals for the Pelicans this year, and both shared insight on how the team’s new-look backcourt is coming together. Evans also spoke to HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy about his experience as a free agent, comparing it to college recruiting, while Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune points out that Holiday is the fourth starting point guard for the team in as many years.
Ken Rodriguez of Spurs.com examines the connection between a pair of San Antonio’s offseason signees. Marco Belinelli refers to Manu Ginobili as his “idol,” and it’s worth noting that Belinelli agreed to join the Spurs this summer shortly after the team reached a new deal with Ginobili.

Western Notes: Turner, Nuggets, Asik

October 17th, 2013 at 5:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Richard Hamilton was one name linked to the Timberwolves as they consider adding a wing, but he’s far from the team’s only potential target. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that Evan Turner has fans among the Wolves front office, and that the 76ers would be open to moving him. In a piece for the Star Tribune, Jerry Zgoda also mentions Turner and identifies a few other possible options.

With that aside, let’s take a look at what else is going on around the Western Conference:

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports takes a look at the Nuggets’ offseason, starting with Josh Kroenke’s agonizing decision to fire Coach of the Year George Karl.
ESPN’s David Thorpe examines Omer Asik‘s trade value and explores a few potential trades involving the Rockets’ center (Insiders only).
Earlier this week, we noted that there has been mutual interest between the Jazz and free agent guard Jamaal Tinsley, although nothing appeared to be imminent. Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune was able to relay some of head coach Tyrone Corbin‘s comments today regarding the 35-year-old point guard: “He’s a guy that’s on the list…We haven’t decided what we’re going to do yet. He’s a guy we’re comfortable with. I really respect what he brings to the team. We’ll look and see if it’s the right fit going forward.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter) doesn’t expect the Spurs to make any roster cuts until after the team’s road trip ends in Miami on Saturday. McDonald also points out that although San Antonio only has to make one more roster cut, they could possibly opt for two.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich drew a parallel between Manu Ginobili and new addition Marco Belinelli: “I consider him to have the same mindset as Manu, which means I’m going to have to be patient as I’ve learned with Manu. Manu taught me to shut up and just watch him play a little more, which is a good thing. And Marco is going to be the same way. They both have the same passion for the game. They have no fear, which most of the time is good, but sometimes it can bite you. But I would rather have that than somebody who is timid” (NBA.com via the Associated Press).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.