Ginobili downplays Argentine paper's report

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has a message for fans concerned about comments he made in an Argentine newspaper report indicating he expects to become a free agent this summer.

“Just because I don't expect the Spurs to extend my contract before it expires does not mean my days as a Spur are over,” Ginobili said before Wednesday's game at the AT&T Center against the Utah Jazz.

The article in Clarin, an Argentine publication that has fervently followed Ginobili's career since he came to the Spurs, appeared on Wednesday morning.

Ginobili said he was concerned some of his comments weren't properly understood, especially as they related to his belief the Spurs won't offer him a contract extension before his current contract expires on June 30.

“In Argentina, the term ‘extension,' as it is here, doesn't exist. The fact is, they can re-sign me before the deal is over. They took ‘extend' to mean even after it is over, instead of re-sign. So they are two different terms.”

Ginobili, who has played for the Spurs since the 2002-03 season, is in the final season of the deal he signed in the summer of 2004, when he was a restricted free agent. At $10.73 million, he is the fourth-highest paid Spurs player, behind Tim Duncan ($22.2 million), Richard Jefferson ($14.2 million) and Tony Parker ($12.6 million).

Coming off an injury-plagued season that culminated when he was diagnosed last April with a stress fracture of the right ankle, Ginobili entered Wednesday's game averaging 12.5 points on 39.8 percent shooting in an average of 26.1 minutes per game. He also averages 4.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.43 steals per game.

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford declined comment, reiterating the team's position of keeping all player negotiations private.

Ginobili said he understands the Spurs' reluctance to offer a contract extension before season's end but said it was important to stress that this does not mean he expects to leave San Antonio.

“I don't expect them to re-sign me before the deal is over,” he said. “I'm going to be a free agent, and then I'm going to decide. That's the only thing.

“It's not that I'm saying I'm not going to be a Spur. That's the difference.”