Manu Ginobili may have had an opportunity to be the first legitimate NBA star to jump (back) into a league overseas, but that won’t be the case. From Don Harris of WOAI.com:
Manu Ginobili’s agent Herb Rudoy tells News 4 WOAI that the Spurs star guard will finish his career in the NBA.
Internet reports surfaced over the past few days that Real Madrid in Spain is interested in signing Ginobili as a free agent this summer. According to the reports, Real Madrid was prepared to offer Ginobili ten million euros or the equivalent of thirteen million U.S. dollars.
“Manu will finish his career in the NBA,” Rudoy told News 4 WOAI sports director Don Harris. “I don’t know who reported that, but they didn’t talk to me.”
High fives all around, Spurs fans. The big three lives on. Nevermind that they’re getting older by the day, Parker was having a down year even before his injuries, the team is obligated to over $55 million in salary next season even without Manu (or Mason, or Bonner), and even when the integration of Richard Jefferson works, it doesn’t really work. But while losing Ginobili to Real Madrid would have been horrible for the Spurs, not losing him merely keeps them hovering above mediocrity.