Ginobili likely to return to Spurs
His overall numbers were down, but he remains incredibly important to the Spurs as they try to chase Golden State in the West. In Duncan's first season of retirement, coach Gregg Popovich leaned more on Parker and Ginobili to be vocal leaders in the locker room.
“Timmy's not a big rahrah guy,” Popovich said in March. “He didn't wave a towel. He would talk in timeouts. He'd put his arm around people. Manu and Tony have been more vocal in that regard. They talk to the team more than I do. They talk to individuals. They've really taken on that mantle and it's helped.”
The Spurs won 61 games last season, but were overwhelmed by the Warriors in the conference finals after Kawhi Leonard suffered an ankle injury in Game 1. After missing out on Chris Paul, they re-signed guard Patty Mills, added veteran forward Rudy Gay and summer league standout Brandon Paul, and are expected to bring back Pau Gasol as well to make another run at Golden State.
The understated offseason fits the Spurs more closely than two years ago when they signed LaMarcus Aldridge to a max deal. Given that Parker figures to miss a good chunk of the start of the season with a quadriceps injury suffered in the playoffs and Jonathon Simmons left for a three-year deal with Orlando, Ginobili's return means even more.
Ginobili averaged 13.8 points in just over 20 minutes per game of that series against the Warriors, hitting 58.8 percent of his shots. He said after the final game that “I do feel like I can still play,” and he got no argument from the eventual champions.
“He kind of worked us pretty good these four games,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said after Game 4. “So, I think he's got quite a bit left in the tank. Obviously, it's up to him how much longer he wants to go.”