After their 99-91 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series, the San Antonio Spurs are now facing an uncertain future in terms of their veteran stars, including Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Ginobili contemplated retirement last offseason, but he opted to return to the Spurs, signing a two-year deal worth $5 million. Now that the season is over, Ginobili’s future will be put in the spotlight once again. Many people expect the 40-year-old Ginobili to hang up his jersey for good after 16 seasons in the NBA, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr is not among them.
After their game, Kerr approached Ginobili and had a heart-warming moment with his former Spurs teammate. Kerr and Ginobili played together during the 2002-2003 season. It was Kerr’s last year in the NBA after a 15-year career, while Ginobili was a rookie then. During their talk, Kerr told Ginobili to keep going, per Bud Geracie of the San Jose Mercury News. Geracie said Kerr told a small story to Ginobili about 36-year-old tennis great Roger Federer. According to Kerr, he once asked Federer why he kept playing, the tennis great answered “I love it.” “If you love it, keep going. What the hell,” Kerr told Ginobili. Ginobili averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game over five games in this first-round series against the Warriors.
In 65 regular-season games, Ginobili averaged 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Parker wants to stay with Spurs
Despite being relegated as a backup point guard, veteran playmaker Tony Parker said he wants to return to the Spurs next season, according to David Aldridge of Turner Sports. The 35-year-old Parker lost his starting role to Dejounte Murray this season after a poor start to the season.
However, Parker’s return will depend on management’s decision on whether to keep him for another year or not. Also, Parker has to accept a pay cut after earning more than $15 million this season. In 55 games this season, Parker averaged career-lows of 7.7 points and 3.5 assists in 19.5 minutes of action. In his first 1,143 games with the Spurs, Parker started all but 13 games.
Spurs to prioritize talks with Leonard
Chris Barnewall of CBS Sports reported that the Spurs will prioritize a meeting with Kawhi Leonard to see if their relationship can be repaired. The Spurs and Leonard had a falling out due to conflict over the superstar’s rehabilitation from a quad issue. Leonard played nine games this season before the Spurs decided to shut him down indefinitely to continue his rehab for the quad problem that has bothered him since the preseason. Also, ESPN said the Spurs' management will decide whether or not they will give Leonard a maximum contract extension worth in excess of $200 million.
