Trading Manu Ginobili?

[el badman]

I like my man TP, but honestly, I'd pick a healthy Ginobili any day of the week over him. His contributions are just critical to a team, especially after he's been improving his shot behing the 3pt line that past season.

[RKO]

Manu is the second best player on the Spurs and very valuable to the team. TP has his nights and might get better down the road but Manu is basically leading the team at least that's what he did this past season.

[Scorer--20]

manu is an all-around player , he shoots , he drives to the hoop , rebounds , trows assits , steal balls. I mean he seriously plays deffense.

But i think the most important thing is he isn't selfish.

Parker is a great inside player , but sometimes is a ballhogger

Duncan is one of the best PF' / C of the game , he is really efficient but he isn't an all around player , anyway he is the best player of the spurs.

The spurs work very well with their big three , but they need a better bench , c'mon finley ?? he was a great player but now he cant play shit

[kinokong]

Well they would have a better bench if they had not trusted their foreign players in the draft so much.... They have no one to blame but themselves for being in this position. But it isn't bad.....

[Eugene]

Tony Parker is a scoring point guard (which really means he's a just scoring guard). After all these years, Parker still hasn't truly figured out how to run an offense. His success stems (in order) from Pop's system, Duncan's genius, and Manu taking over ball handling duties.

Tony Parker is effective in getting the ball from three point to three point line, and scoring on the break (where he just flat outruns everyone). When the Spurs need to execute, Manu handles the most in two-man games with Duncan.

Manu Ginobili (not Tony Parker--because he's still not a consistent enough shooter) is the most dynamic scorer and set up man the Spurs have got. His injuries aside, there's no one else in the league you'd replace him with.

However: Manu Ginobili does get injured a lot and his style is conducive to him breaking down--he is after all, 31 years old. If you can replace most of the scoring output and the ability to create, you should make the trade. Brandon Roy would be perfect (for the Spurs--the Blazers would never make that trade). He's more "under control" than Manu (probably driving Pop less crazy) and still has that scoring/set up versatility. And he's younger. But then again, he's a little injury prone, too.

Joe Johnson, if you could get him, might be worth it. Spurs have such a strong culture that Johnson is more likely to adjust than he is to cause problems.

All of this is moot, because I think Spurs won't ever trade Ginobili (if only out of loyalty). They take care of their own.

On the other point of Manu being the man on another team. I have no doubt that he'd be at least 25/5/5 as the lead guy. But I'd have to question his durability--Manu breaks down in limited minutes, how do you think he'll fair when he plays 35-40 minutes a game as the focal of the offense (which means he'll be the focal point of the other team's defense)?

Manu is fantastic--no question. I love him. He's my favorite international player. But you have to be concerned about the history of injuries (likewise with Roy, Wade...). What good is 25/5/5 if he's not around to give it?