The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to re-sign unrestricted free agent shooting guard Manu Ginobli to a one year , $14 million contract.
Shams Charania of Yahoo’s The Vertical broke the news on Thursday afternoon:
Vertical Sources: Manu Ginobili has signed a one-year, $14 million deal to return to the San Antonio Spurs.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2016
Manu Ginobli Signs One Year $14 Million Contract
After stating that he would play one more season in the NBA, Manu Ginobli eventually agreed on a one year deal with the only NBA team he has played for, the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan’s retirement announcement didn’t factor into Ginobli’s decision at all. The Philadelphia 76ers actually made a strong push for Ginobli, which drove up his price. The Spurs initial offer was reportedly for one-year at $3 million.
The Spurs long-time sixth man will likely retire after this season, making one more run at a championship. Ginobli is fifth on the Spurs all-time points and assists rankings, and second all-time in steals. Ginobli has had a Hall of Fame worthy career, but as he’s gotten older, it’s become more difficult for him to play at a high level. Last year, Ginobli averaged the least amount of minutes per game in his career. As a result of that, he also posted his lowest scoring average since his rookie year. Next year, he will probably still be the first player off the bench. However, look for his overall role to decrease as the Spurs start playing their younger talent more.
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