Q&A with Manu Ginobili

Of course, I wasn’t at full strength, but what are you going to do? You just play the way you are, and we are not the only team that had injuries. At least I could play and I’m not gong to say we just lost because I missed Game 1.

It just happens, and if you are going to win the championship, you have to do without a player for a game, and we should have won without me for one game.

To tell the truth, they could have easily beaten us in Game 5 at home. So no excuse. Of course, I was limited, but we are better than that.

How important is it for you to play in the ?FIBA Americas tournament (Aug. 30-Sept. 12, in Mar del Plata, Argentina) and help your national team get to the next Olympics?

Very, very important for me. Not only because it gives me the opportunity to play in my last Olympic Games, but also it will be the first time we have played in Argentina in a decade. After all we have accomplished, having the opportunity to play in front of our fans and our people is very important. It is going to be fun. It is just a short time, just nine games.?

I know I only have this one and probably the next one to play with all my great friends on the team, Luis (Scola) and Fabri (Oberto) and (Andres) Nocioni and (Carlos) Delfino and the rest. It is really exciting.

So Fabricio has been cleared to play? (Note: Oberto retired from the Portland Trail Blazers last season because of ongoing problems with cardiac arrhythmia.)

Fabri is planning to play. He is getting into really good shape. He got the OK from the doctors, so he is trying to get into better shape, the best possible.

He got the thumbs-up to go do it. Of course, he is rusty, but we all know how hard he will work, and I am thrilled to play with him again and pumped to again play together, a month and a half to be with him and all my other friends on the team.

Has there been any discussion yet of the insurance issues?

No, that is an important issue and nobody really knows what is going to happen. I’ve been in touch with the NBPA (the players’ union) to know what’s going on, but it is very shaky. We all understand the situation. Nobody knows what can be done with a lockout coming. Nobody really knows what is going to happen.

Would you play without insurance?

That is a really tough decision to make if we arrived at that point. We will have to dig down with teammates and friends and make a decision, a really difficult one, and I don’t think that many players are going to be able to play if we don’t find an option for insurance. I’m really hoping that the NBPA finds a good, solid insurance company, finds the money that is needed and we can all think about playing.

If there is a lockout, would you consider going to play overseas, where you were a star a decade ago?

Not really. I would consider it only if the whole season was canceled. If the lockout goes to January and the season is canceled, I might consider. If not, no I wouldn’t.

To go make a move to Europe and then be called back to the NBA in a few weeks .?.?. I don’t want to do that and many teams won’t be willing unless they get a guarantee they will stay the whole year.

s there any sense at all that last year, especially with the No. 1 seed, really may have been the last best shot for the three of you, Tim (Duncan) and Tony (Parker) and yourself?

Not really, because you probably could have said that the year before, and then we went out there and started to fight and play hard and won 61 games.

So we will try to do it again and try to accomplish the goal. It’s hard to say when a team has its last shot. Of course, the Bulls lost Michael Jordan and couldn’t make another run. But we’ve got the same core of players and nothing changed dramatically, so why not? I believe in our players and our organization so I believe we do have another shot.

Tony recently said to French journalists that he didn’t believe the Spurs were capable of winning the championship any longer. What is your take on that?

I heard about it, but I didn’t read the quote or how he said it, but I never trust what I don’t hear directly.

Sometimes it’s not exactly what you meant to say, and I don’t really believe Tony meant that. We all saw what we did this year and there is no reason to believe next year will be so much different in six months. It depends on how professional we are in the offseason, and then after a lockout.

It’s not that easy. We won’t be the main candidate to win it, but

You are 34 and under contract through the 2012-13 season. You also were named All-NBA at age 34, proof you are still an impactful player. Have you begun to consider how much longer you intend to play in the NBA?

I really don’t know. Of course, anybody can tell that I played very good last season, especially at the beginning, but I don’t know how I will feel next season or the next few years.

Everybody knows I don’t have the same legs I once did, but I try to be decisive for my team, be a leader and provide ways for my team to win. I think I can do it for a few years more, but it depends on how I feel physically and mentally. If I am as motivated as I’ve ever been, I will keep going, but if not, I will say thanks to everybody and keep going on with my life.