NBA Rumors: Manu Ginobili Chooses San Antonio Spurs Over Philadelphia 76ers

For some NBA players, home is where the heart is. According to ESPN, Manu Ginobili is signing with the San Antonio Spurs on a one year contract worth approximately $14 million. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard decided to stay with the only team he has played with in the National Basketball Association after fielding an offer from the Philadelphia 76ers.

For the longest time, the San Antonio Spurs were led by the trio of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Lots of NBA Championships were won by that group. Things will be a little bit different in San Antonio now that Duncan has decided to quietly walk away from professional basketball.

Replacing the legendary Tim Duncan on the roster and in the rotation will be Pau Gasol. Manu Ginobili is quite familiar with the 6-foot-11 center due to playing against one another in the NBA and internationally. Since they are both unselfish players, Ginobili and Gasol should be able to develop instant chemistry.

Manu Ginobili Re-Signs With Spurs on One-Year, $14 Million Deal https://t.co/aP1ELA6PKA

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Initially, the San Antonio Spurs wanted Manu Ginobili to sign a one year contract worth approximately $10 million. However, that offer was raised a bit when the Philadelphia 76ers offered the 38-year-old guard a two-year contract worth approximately $20 million.

The reason why Manu Ginobili fielded the offer from the Philadelphia 76ers was because of his relationship with Brett Brown. Prior to becoming the head coach of the Sixers, Brown was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, where he developed a close relationship with Ginobili.

Another reason why the San Antonio Spurs are paying Manu Ginobili so much money is because of loyalty. In addition to willingly sacrificing his personal stats to provide the Spurs with a weapon off the bench, Ginobili has repeatedly taken less money so that San Antonio can build more depth on the roster.

While he would have received a much bigger role with the Philadelphia 76ers, Manu Ginobili was more than likely lured by the appeal of chasing another NBA Championship before retiring. Even with the loss of Tim Dunca, the San Antonio Spurs are still considered a legitimate contender because of the presence of Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Even with the $14 million contract, Manu Ginobili is still expected to be a bench player. Danny Green is more of a long-term solution, and the San Antonio Spurs want to keep him in the starting lineup to continue to boost his confidence. Ginobili should still receive plenty of minutes in the fourth quarter.

Manu Ginobili is going to need to be much more of a leader on the bench than ever before. Aside from the loss of Tim Duncan, the San Antonio Spurs were also forced to trade away Boris Diaw to the Utah Jazz to clear enough salary cap room to sign Pau Gasol. The veteran big man was a very vocal leader, both in the locker room and on the court.

There are those in the NBA that believe that Manu Ginobili is so loyal to the San Antonio Spurs that he would have taken yet another pay cut this season if it mean that management could bring in someone like Kevin Durant, who opted to sign with the Golden State Warriors instead.

Since the San Antonio Spurs were not able to acquire a big name free agent this summer, Manu Ginobili decided that now would be the best time for him to take a huge contract. The roster is pretty much set, and the money was finally available. Last season, Ginobili sacrificed financially so that the Spurs could bring in LaMarcus Aldridge.

Manu Ginobili is finally being rewarded by the San Antonio Spurs.

[Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images]