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Manu Ginobili to sign with San Antonio Spurs for two more years

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili congratulates Heat forward LeBron James after Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)
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Meet the new San Antonio Spurs -- same as the old San Antonio Spurs now that the team has come to terms with veteran guard Manu Ginobili and somewhat-improving center Tiago Splitter.

The Argentine stars have reportedly agreed to two- and four-year contracts, respectively, leaving the Spurs with basically the same nucleus that was good enough to win the Western Conference but not quite up to the task of dethroning LeBron James and the Miami Heat as NBA champions.

Despite an aging roster, the Spurs appear content to bring back the shooting guard who turns 36 this month to again play alongside power forward Tim Duncan (37) and point guard Tony Parker (31).

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The 6-foot-11 Splitter, who turns 28 on Jan. 1, reportedly agreed to his deal on Tuesday.

Ginobili took to Twitter to let Spurs fans know he’s coming back.

Thrilled to announce that as I always hoped, I’m gonna stay with the @spurs for two more years. #gospursgo.— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) July 3, 2013

Ginobili’s production has declined over the years as his injuries have multiplied. In the NBA Finals, he committed eight turnovers in a Game 6 loss, and with the series on the line in the final minute of Game 7, he had another costly errant pass.

Although he is a 37% three-point shooter for his career, Ginobili only shot 42.5% from the field last season and 35.3% from behind the arc. His scoring average has declined to 12.9 and then 11.8 points a game the last two seasons. The previous seven seasons, he averaged between 15.1 and 19.5 points a game.

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