Manu Ginobili is still a doubt for the FIBA Basketball World Cup but the San Antonio Spurs star is still hopeful of being declared fit to represent Argentina this summer. This isn’t the case for every Spurs player, we already know that Kawhi Leonard has pulled out, citing the need to rest this season. The Spurs were delighted with Leonard’s decision and they have already stated that they would be happy if Ginobili follows the same path of action. However, unlike Leonard, some players are patriotic and want to represent their country at every opportunity. This is why even though Manu Ginobili has suffered a stress fracture on his right leg, he remains hopeful of making his way to Spain and playing in the big basketball event of the summer.
Spurs coach Gregg Popvich would prefer the player to be at home and it is to be believed that if the player feels any pain, he will not play. Whether this is the case, or whether Ginobili decides to play through the pain, remains to be seen but there will be a few eyes on the player in the build up to the big event this summer.
NBA stars may be heading to Spain
One new NBA player that could be making his way to Spain is Cameron Bairstow. The Chicago Bulls have announced the signing of the player who was formerly part of the University of New Mexico team. Bairstow has joined up with the training camp of the Australian national team, preparing for the FIBA World Cup in Spain. You get the impression that the Bulls would prefer their player to settle in at the new team but there is no guarantee that Bairstow is heading to Spain just yet. There are 17 players training at the camp and this number will be reduced to 12 for the FIBA World Cup. The tournament continues until the middle of September and the training camp for the Bulls gets underway at the end of that month.
Sergey Karasev is another NBA player that is looking to make his way into a big event this summer. The player was snapped up by the Nets in a deal that saw Jarret Jack coming off to Brooklyn but at the moment, Karasev is focusing on the FIBA Europe Qualifying tournament with Russia. There is a friendly tournament taking place this weekend and he will be keen to make his mark. Other Nets players that are expected to take part in the FIBA World Cup include Jorge Gutierrez and the proposed new signing, Bojan Bogdanovic, who is tipped to become a Nets player this week.
No matter what unfolds, there will be some basketball fans eagerly anticipating the World Cup and there will be plenty of fans waiting for the tournament to be over so that the NBA season gets underway again. Whether you care about who wins the FIBA World Cup, or you are keen to place some money on the NBA Futures market, there will be an opportunity for you to lay some best in the upcoming weeks regarding both of these basketball events. Whether the performance of players at the FIBA tournament influences your thoughts on the forthcoming NBA season or not, there is definitely a lot to keep you interested from the end of August.
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