San Antonio Spurs: Manu Ginobili and the value of leadership
By Luke Swiatek
The value of leadership
There is another scenario to consider though. Perhaps this will finally be the year where Manu Ginobili starts to go downhill. Then he can play few minutes, if any, and just provide veteran leadership to the team, right?
No one doubts that Ginobili can and will provide leadership. The question, rather, is how much is leadership actually worth? A roster spot and $2.4 million?
Every player in the NBA seemingly has had a mentor at some point who’s taught them the ways of the game. Certainly, no one has ever come out and said, “I didn’t need to learn anything, I was already the greatest when I stepped on the hardwood.”
However, it’s tough to know if the mentorship they received really helped, or if they only thought it helped when it really didn’t, or even if they’re just lying to feel good about themselves. Pretty much every long-tenured player thanks his hometown fans when he retires or leaves, talking about how they’re “the best fans in the NBA.” But when people are saying that about all 30 teams, some of them have to either be lying or just incorrect.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
There’s no real empirical way to test how valuable leadership is. How can someone quantify such an intangible thing? There’s no stat called “inspirational speeches per game,” nor is there one called “helpful tips and tricks per 36 minutes.”
It’s tough to tell a good mentor from a bad one. Vince Carter has bounced around a bunch of places in the league despite his age, but is it because he’s a good mentor, or just a decent and respected player?
Even on an anecdotal level, the situation is very cloudy. There haven’t been a ton of veteran-free teams, and even if a team were veteran-free, it’s tough to see if the players are negligibly worse at developing.
Consider the Philadelphia 76ers a few years ago. They were mocked for having no veterans, but even they usually had an injured Jason Richardson or a washed Elton Brand on their team.
It’s true that not a lot of players made it out of the Process, but is that because of a lack of mentorship? Or was it poor coaching? Or did they just suck at basketball, and no coaching would have helped?
That brings up another question: if a player is a leader who helps teach the young bloods a thing or two but doesn’t play… isn’t that just what a coach does? Why carry a guy on the roster that’s just doing the job of a coach? Is Gregg Popovich incapable of doing his job?
The answer to the last question is obviously no, but the other ones are more ambiguous. Defining the value of leadership also depends on the context.
On a rebuilding team, veterans likely serve a useful role. On those old Sixers, someone who’s been good recently could probably teach the Tony Wrotens of the world something about how the league works and the life of a player, not just X’s and O’s. On a team like the San Antonio Spurs, that seems a bit more redundant.
Pop has been around forever, so certainly he could teach the team a thing or two. If you want veteran players, there might not be an older team in the league. Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, Marco Belinelli and Dante Cunningham are all on the wrong side of 30.
Not only do they probably not need guidance, but they themselves can be the ones doing the guiding. What’s the difference between a 10-year vet and a 15-year one?
Additionally, with the exceptions of Walker and Jakob Poeltl, all the young players are on the team have been here before. If Ginobili (and Parker, when he was still around) hasn’t already taught them whatever he planned on teaching them, then what has he been doing with his time?
In short, everyone says leadership and veteran mentorship is important, but it’s impossible to know to what degree, or how irreplaceable it is. If anyone can do it, then maybe the San Antonio Spurs don’t really need Ginobili