Tony Parker expects Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan to return next season
By Chris Walder
The era of “The Big Three” for the San Antonio Spurs will one day come to an end, but if Tony Parker has his way, that aforementioned end won’t come in 2014-15.
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Parker believes both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will be back next season to help the Spurs defend their NBA Championship.
“It will come to an end, but I don’t think next year,” Parker told reporters after the Spurs beat the Miami Heat Sunday in the NBA Finals for their fifth championship in 15 seasons, via ESPN.com. “I think everybody’s gonna come back.”
Spurs owner Peter Holt feels the exact same way.
“Tim and Manu are going to play until they die, so I think we are in pretty good shape,” Holt told reporters. “Tim and Manu want to play until they die, somewhat sincerely, actually.”
Duncan, who turned 38 years old in April, has a player option to return next season for $10.3 million. He averaged 15.1 points and 9.7 rebounds during the regular season, as well as a double-double of 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds during the Spurs’ championship run.
Spurs general manager R.C. Buford has every faith in Duncan to maintain his top form for at least one more year.
“I don’t see any reason, watching him play, why he can’t continue to be a great player,” Buford said during Sunday’s title celebration. “He’ll make that decision.”
Ginobili feels that if this core can stick together, there’s no reason why the Spurs can’t repeat as NBA Champions.
“I think I said it many times. There was not one season since I’m in the NBA that I really didn’t truly believe that we could have won it,” said Ginobili, per ESPN.com. “Every year we were up there. Sometimes we were No. 1, and we lost in the first round. Some other times we were seventh, and we had a shot at winning it.
“But playing with the teammates I’ve always played [with], coached by the guy that is coaching us, I always felt that we had a shot, and I truly never believed it was the last shot.”