Spurs Reach One-Year, $14 Million Deal With Manu Ginobili, Though Sixers Offered Guard $30 Million

The San Antonio Spurs re-signed veteran shooting guard Manu Ginobili to a one-year deal estimated at $14 million, according to league sources.

Spurs Reach One-Year, $14 Million Deal With Manu Ginobili

The team announced the signing of the Argentine on Thursday night after first using their salary-cap space to sign former All-Star center Pau Gasol, Latvian import Davis Bertrans, rookie point guard Dejounte Murray (from the University of Washington), center Dewayne Dedmond and young guards Ryan Arcidacono and Bryn Forbes.

ESPN.com reported earlier Thursday that the Spurs were planning to sign Ginobili– who will turn 39 later this month– to a one-year deal in the $10 million range, but sources state that a two-year offer from the Philadelphia 76ers worth an estimated $30 million– though only partially guaranteed in Year 2– convinced San Antonio to raise their offer to the Argentine.

Philadelphia’s interest in Ginobili was first reported by The Vertical.

Ginobili had already announced on Twitter last week that he would be returning to San Antonio, although the Spurs took the Sixers’ threat seriously enough to increase their offer.

The shooting guard opted out of his $2.9 million contract in June to become a free agent.

Sources state Philadelphia was moved to make a play for Ginobili given his ties to 76ers coach Brett Brown, who worked as a Spurs assistant before taking the Philadelphia job, as well as the Sixers’ desire to bolster their roster with more veterans.

The 76ers recently signed point guards Jerryd Bayless from the Milwaukee Bucks and Sergio Rodriguez from Real Madrid.

San Antonio was also forced to waive Tim Duncan on Monday following his retirement. The Spurs can stretch the $5.6 million owed to Duncan next season over the course of the next three years and help fill out its first Duncan-less roster since the 1996-1997 season.

The Spurs’ initial offer to Ginobili was for a little more than $3 million. At the urging of Brown, the Sixers offered Ginobili a two-year deal with at least $16 million guaranteed in the first season, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. 

The veteran guard averaged 9.6 points and 3.1 assists per game last season, and shot 39.1 percent from beyond the arc in almost 20 minutes a night. He will play for Argentina this summer at the Rio Olympics.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 6: Manu Ginobili #20 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks two points against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 6, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.