Report: 76ers' pursuit of Ginobili forced Spurs to triple offer, lose Boban
The San Antonio Spurs were forced to triple their offer for free agent Manu Ginobili because of a strong pitch from the Philadelphia 76ers, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Ginobili agreed to terms with the Spurs Thursday on a reported one-year, $14-million deal. Wojnarowski reports that number was triple what the Spurs had originally hoped to offer the 15-year veteran because the 76ers had doggedly pursued him with a two-year offer that apparently promised between $16-17 million next season.
Philly's offer to Manu that forced San Antonio's hand, sources say, was a two-year pact at roughly $30 million (Year 2 partially guaranteed)
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 14, 2016
Ginobili has historically taken "hometown discounts" from the Spurs in the past. Last season for instance, he made $2.8 million - a figuratively paltry sum for a player of his stature. However, after the 38-year-old announced his intention to return to the NBA, Ginobili's agent stressed they would be looking for a "good deal" that corresponds with the league's rising salary cap.
Whether Ginobili would have actually entertained joining the 76ers will never be known, but Wojnarowski reports that the Spurs' financial commitment to have him end his career in a San Antonio uniform forced them to part ways with backup center Boban Marjanovic.
The Spurs opted not to match Marjanovic's reported three-year, $21-million offer sheet with the Detroit Pistons last week, making the 7-foot-3 Serb a Piston.