Popovich: Duncan's retirement made it 'absolutely imperative' to keep Ginobili

The Spurs coach said it would have been "like death by a thousand cuts" to lose Duncan and Ginobili

After San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's emotional press conference about Tim Duncan, there was no way he was going to do the same thing for Manu Ginobili. Popovich told The Vertical's Michael Lee that losing the guard in free agency was not an option.

"Losing Tim made it absolutely imperative that we keep him," Popovich said Thursday. "To lose them both at the same time, it would've been like death by a thousands cuts. It would've been awful."

Ginobili reportedly turned down a bigger contract from the Philadelphia 76ers to return to the Spurs on a one-year, $14 million deal. He told The Vertical that he "never wanted to leave."

He had to listen to the Sixers, though, because of his relationship with coach Brett Brown and, well, money. San Antonio's initial offer to him was a reported one-year, $3 million contract.

After 14 years with the Spurs, it would've been weird to see Ginobili in another NBA uniform. It would have been especially weird to see him on a rebuilding team. San Antonio avoided a Dwyane Wade-like situation by raising its offer when it needed.

Since Wade's departure, there have been questions about how much motivation he and the Miami Heat really had to reach an agreement. With Ginobili and the Spurs, there is no debate -- "death by a thousand cuts" and "I never wanted to leave" makes it pretty clear.