San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili will return to the Spurs as a special adviser on basketball operations as a new member of management.
After three years of retirement, the four-time NBA champion and one of the greatest international players in basketball history has finally returned to the Spurs family. The 44-year-old Ginobili will play a role in helping players grow, focusing on their development on and off the field.
There are currently 19 players on the Spurs who will head into next week's training camp, with 16 players with 5 years of experience playing in the NBA and under. Last season's rotation consisted of Deutschon Murray, Kelden Johnson, Lonnie Walker and Devin Vassell, all under the age of 25. Free agent Zach Collins is only 23 years old, and Josh Primo, the lottery picked by the Spurs this year, is the youngest player in this July's draft. Of course, he is also the youngest player selected in Spurs history, just 18 and a half years old.
The young Spurs need an experienced legend to help young players get to know the NBA and integrate into the NBA as soon as possible. Given Ginobili's outstanding performance as a leader and mentor during his 16-year career with spurs, the Spurs believe he will be a good fit for the job.
At the end of the 2017-18 season, Ginobili announced his retirement. In March 2019, his No. 20 jersey was hung high by the team, and Ginobili reunited with Duncan and Tony Parker. At that time, Duncan was continuing to serve the Spurs as Popovich's assistant coach, and the media asked whether Ginobili would join the coaching team like Duncan.
Speaking about the issue, Popovich said he doesn't think Ginobili wants to work as coaching in the future, but may be involved in management or scouting.
"He didn't want to sit there and study the video... I know because he said to me: 'I don't want to do that.' Popovich said.
Now, as Popovich said at the time, Ginobili did not choose to become a teaching assistant sitting on the bench in a suit and shoes.
Since Ginobili announced his farewell to the Spurs for 16 years in 2018, the team has struggled to persuade Ginobili to take on an organizational-level role on the team, ESPN reported.
Ginobili is one of the best teammates and leaders in the sports world, and Popovich, CEO R.C Buford and general manager Brian Wright all hope he can make an impact in driving the team's culture to the next generation of players and employees.
This offseason, the Spurs sent four-time All-Star Demar DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Thaddeus Young, Al-Farou Aminu and three future draft picks. The Spurs bid farewell to the short-lived DeRozan era and ushered in a period of reconstruction. They've made only one playoff since DeRozan joined the Spurs, missing out on the playoffs for the next two years. The legend of 21 consecutive years in the playoffs comes to an end.
Over the past two decades, the three superstars David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Cowai Leonard have been seamlessly connected with the Spurs team, but good luck may not be able to continue until the fourth time. The Spurs' problems are almost well known, and no matter how strong the coach, the most united collective, no matter how good the team culture can not make up for the lack of superstars.
Nor can it all be blamed on DeRozan, who is an All-Star, but not as strong as the previous ones. Look at the Spurs' old rivals, the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the two superstars who joined forces with the Lakers to become the championship team in one fell swoop. During his time at the Spurs, DeRozan accepted the coaching team's transformation, averaging 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, reaching a career high in assists and shooting 50.1%, but his efforts did not lead the Spurs to continue their glory.
Ginobili wants to return to the team as low-key as possible, so the news was only mentioned in a Spurs press release last week. The headline of the press release is unremarkable, with the headline: "Announcement of the addition and promotion of Spurs basketball operators", without Ginobili. The other day, Greg Popovich resigned as the head coach of the U.S. men's national basketball team. This leads to speculation that Popovich is preparing to retire.
For three years, Ginobili enjoyed life to the fullest, cycling, playing tennis, mountaineering, traveling the world with his family, and organizing gatherings of argentina's old teammates. After enjoying life, it is time to come back and accompany the old man. This time, his return to the Spurs as a special adviser is undoubtedly expected.