Tag: Italian League

Fear the beards: Is James Harden the next Manu?

They say a comparison might be the sincerest form of flattery. 

If so, Manu Ginobili is only adding to his legend as one of the most notable players of his era.

ESPN.com’s David Thorpe makes a pretty convincing case that the collective grouping of Ginobili’s unique abilities makes him one of the best players in the league.

Here’s what Thorpe:

“In many respects, Ginobili is basketball’s version of what a “Moneyball” player looks like. He’s too skinny; he isn’t explosively athletic enough to be a classic shooting guard; and he doesn’t look like a prolific scorer. He also falls down a lot and plays awkwardly when compared to a classic guard.

“Most old-school scouts seek exactly the opposite from their 2-guards, a major reason why Ginobili was not drafted until the 57th selection in 1999. And that was after already proving to be one of the best young players in Europe and winning a title in the top Italian league. But as evidenced by his titles and his production, Ginobili is an analyst’s dream because his sum is so much better than his individual parts.”

Thorpe sees third-year Oklahoma City guard/forward James Harden as a similar player.

“Harden reminds many of Ginobili because of his average-looking athleticism that gives way to an occasional monster dunk that foreshadows his future if he tried to make athletic plays more often.

“Remember that as Harden enters his third NBA season, he is three years younger than Ginobili was as a rookie, so the Ginobili we’ve seen play with nuanced craft is far past his peak athletic years. Harden plays with tremendous poise and pace, and as he seasons, he could add more excitement to his game, the way Ginobili can be electric with the ball when his team needs him most.”

It’s a nice comparison for both players. And Thorpe has an interesting take on the unique skills of two key players for  two of the league’s best teams.

Manu to Argentine media: ‘I’d like to go back to Bologna’

Don’t panic, Spurs fans. Fan fave Manu Ginobili isn’t headed to Italy just yet, especially after tweaking his right ankle in a pickup game in Bahia Blanca, Argentina on Tuesday. But if the NBA lockout drags on long enough, the competitive urges that make Ginobili one of the world’s best players and his fondness for an Italian city where he became a star of the Italian League are apt to get the better of him.

Speaking to reporters at Bahiense del Norte, the club where he began his basketball career more  some 20 years ago, Ginobili acknowledged that he has fond memories of his days playing in the Italian League for a team in Bologna and that he would like to return there if circumstances dictate.

Here’s the key quote from the interview, with a big assist from Fabian Garcia, of BasquetPlus, one of the Argentine journalists who were so kind to a visiting writer from San Antonio during the FIBA Americans pre-Olympic tournament in Mar Del Plata in September: “When the Pre Olympic was over I was excited [about playing in Italy]. I wanted to. But soon after I thought about it more: I have a family, and to do such a thing and then have to come back [to the NBA] when the lockout is over… It’s not what I like to do. I don’t rule it out. We don;t know when it’s going to end. As I’ve always said, Bologna is a place where I have great memories and I would like to go back there.”

What likely would move Ginobili to change his mind would be an announcement that a larger chunk of Spurfs games  has been canceled. The first two weeks of cancellations cost the Spurs only their first  six regular season games.

Negotiators for the owners and the players’ union will re-convene next Tuesday under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Ginobili’s agent denies Italy report

NEW YORK — With the first two weeks of NBA regular-season games likely to be canceled come Monday, speculation continues to build about players heading overseas, including two of the Spurs’ “Big Three.”

It appears likely that as soon as the cancellations become official, All-Star point guard Tony Parker will sign with Asvel, the team in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, in which he has an ownership stake.

An Internet report out of Italy on Tuesday indicated Spurs All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, who played several seasons in Bologna, Italy, had agreed to sign with Italian League power Virtus Bologna if Lakers star Kobe Bryant turned down a lucrative deal Virtus has offered him.

Ginobili’s agent, Herb Rudoy, on Tuesday emphatically refuted that report, writing in a text message, “Not true!” when asked if Ginobili had made any such agreement.

Bryant, who attended Tuesday’s negotiating session in New York between the NBA’s owners and players, was non-committal about his offer from Virtus Bologna. The negotiating impasse that likely will wipe out the first two weeks of the regular season frees him to play there, but doesn’t necessarily mean he will.

“I don’t think there’s anything stopping it or pushing on it,” he said. “I think it’s its own separate structure. The developments that it has to what’s going on here is that I have time to be able to play overseas. In terms of what’s holding up the deal is the same as any other deal.”