Manu Ginobili, who helped Argentina win 2004 Olympic gold and contributed to four NBA titles by the San Antonio Spurs, confirmed on Monday that he will return to the Spurs next season.
The 37-year-old guard even had a mention for teammate Tim Duncan in his Twitter announcement that he would be back for a 14th NBA campaign, saying: “Happy to announce that I’m coming back next season. #gospursgo #TDwouldvemissedmetoomuch.”
The Spurs received more good news later on Monday with a reported deal for free-agent forward David West, a two-time NBA All-Star who spent the past four seasons at Indiana after eight more with New Orleans.
Photo AP
No contracts can be signed until tomorrow, when salary-cap limits for the 2015-2016 season is to be made official, but teams and players can agree to terms before then.
Coming off the bench last season, Ginobili averaged 10.5 points, 4.2 assists and 3 rebounds a game. His career averages, all with the Spurs, are 14.3 points, 4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game.
The Spurs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of last season’s NBA playoffs, prompting Ginobili to consider retirement. However, Ginobili said Duncan’s decision would factor into his choice and Duncan agreed to return last week.
San Antonio also picked up free-agent star LaMarcus Aldridge, who tweeted on Saturday that he was joining the Spurs after nine seasons with Portland.
Ginobili, named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2008 when he went to more of a reserve role, was a major player for Argentina’s gold medal run at the Athens Games, the only time US men with NBA talent failed to win Olympic gold.
The South American standout helped the Spurs win NBA titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and last year, when San Antonio defeated a LeBron James-led Miami Heat side in the final.
Elsewhere, Spanish All-Star center Marc Gasol has agreed to terms to remain with the Memphis Grizzlies, in a five-year deal worth US$110 million, according to reports.
ESPN and CBS Sports reported that terms of the deal would give Gasol a chance to opt out after four seasons.
Gasol, 30, never considered offers from other teams before deciding to stay in the city where he has spent his entire seven-season NBA career. He averaged a career-high 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Grizzlies over the past season.
Gasol sparked the Grizzlies to 55 victories last season and a spot in the second round of the NBA playoffs before being ousted by eventual champions Golden State. In 2013, Memphis reached the Western Conference finals before losing to San Antonio.
The Golden State Warriors and veteran guard Leandro Barbosa have agreed to a US$2.5 million, one-year deal, a person with knowledge of the details said.
The person spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because contracts can not be completed yet. Warriors general manager Bob Myers said in a statement that the team has been engaged in negotiations with Barbosa and intends to re-sign him after the NBA moratorium on free agency ends.
ESPN first reported the agreement.
The 32-year-old combo guard is one of coach Steve Kerr’s favorites from their time together in Phoenix, where Kerr was the general manager. Barbosa averaged 7.1 points and 1.5 assists in 14.9 minutes last season with the NBA champion Warriors.
Barbosa also played for Toronto, Indiana, Boston and Phoenix again in 2013-2014 before joining Golden State last summer. He served as a reserve behind MVP Stephen Curry and All-Star guard Klay Thompson.
Additional reporting by AP
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS