Manu staying in San Antonio

The Spurs are giving pending unrestricted free agent Manu Ginobili a three-year extension worth $38.9 million. Not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, Ginobili has become a fixture in San Antonio, so much so that they almost certainly will retire his number some day. He has been a mainstay on three championship teams, selflessly played whatever role the team has needed, even coming off the bench. And while he has had a lot of injuries the last couple of years, he seems to be bouncing back and rounding into form. He's generally been great since mid-January and in the past week has had back-to-back 43- and 32-point games against the two teams that were in the NBA Finals last season (and the Spurs won both games).

But Ginobili is 32, the Spurs are an old team and it seems like the championship window is closed. Tim Duncan is 33, Tony Parker is 27 and newcomers Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess are 29 and 35. They are almost certainly going to finish sixth in the rough-and-tumble West, a far-cry from their usual placing in the top two or three.

Then again, maybe they are thinking that they have played well lately, Ginobili seems to be back in form, Parker came back from his injury last night and the Lakers seem vulnerable right now. Can they make another run this year? Next year (with Ginobili back to his old self)? I hope so but I have my doubts.