There generally never seem to be many distractions down in San Antonio. It looks like Manu Ginobili has put the possibility of another one to bed early.
As reported by Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News:
Pop did not pop a fuse when Manu Ginobili got hurt at the Olympics.
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio's coach, had spoken of not wanting his star guard to play in the Olympics due to a lingering ligament problem in his left ankle. Ginobili aggravated the injury in Argentina's Friday semifinal against Team USA, and didn't play in the team's 87-75 bronze-medal winning effort Sunday over Lithuania.
But all apparently is well between Ginobili and Popovich. Ginobili said he spoke to his coach on Saturday.
"I talked to Pop, and he's definitely fine,'' Ginobili said. "He understands the whole situation. He understands the way I feel about all of this (playing for his country). I bet my (butt) that if Pop was a player, he'd have done the same thing. I'm totally sure about what I've done. I'm proud and I'm happy.''
As usual, the professionalism of the Spurs helps nip ripples in the bud.
Seems reasonable that Ginobili wanted to play for his country. Seems reasonable that his employer's coach was a bit worried about his health. Seems like the Spurs' way that they got it figured out in a way unlikely to linger over the team going forward.
One of the biggest factors that allows the Spurs to continue being as dangerous as they are every year is that they don't create unnecessary road-blocks for themselves. Well done, black and silver.