The San Antonio Spurs signed Manu Ginobili to a large deal in free agency. In doing so, they were able to keep a life-long Spurs player with the only NBA team he has known.
However, for one moment, there was a real chance that Ginobili would be playing for a different franchise next year. The Philadelphia 76ers offered the shooting guard a large sum of money, more than five times the original offer from San Antonio.
While most believe speaking to Philadelphia was a negotiation tactic to earn more money, it appears it was more than that. In a feature by Michael Lee of The Vertical, Ginobili reveals the 76ers were in major contention even if he did not want to leave San Antonio:
Ginobili told The Vertical that his conversations with the Philadelphia 76ers weren’t a mild flirtation, nor a negotiating ploy to squeeze some extra dollars out of the only NBA franchise for which he’s played.
“It was not my main option. I never wanted to leave San Antonio,” Ginobili told The Vertical. “But I had to listen to all the options that are there.”
Ginobili obviously had the money incentive in Philadelphia, as well as familiarity with coach Brett Brown.
But in the end, Manu Ginobili’s heart was in San Antonio. He was willing to take slightly less money in order to stay with his lifelong team.
