Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili had an MRI earlier today in San Antonio. The MRI showed that he has a right elbow sprain.

The injury occurred in the first quarter of last night’s Spurs-Suns game.

Ginobili has already begun his rehabilitation process and will be listed as doubtful for Game 1 of the Spurs-Grizzlies series, which is scheduled for noon on Sunday at the AT&T Center.

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports:

Showered and dressed and dispensed with his media duties in the wake of the Spurs’ 124-92 victory over Sacramento on Wednesday, Manu Ginobili was in a hurry to get home.

The L.A. Lakers and Golden State were already in the first quarter of a nationally televised game that had immediate implications on the Spurs’ playoff seeding.

Ginobili, however, had other viewing plans. Like the insides of his eyelids.

“I’ll probably just go to sleep,” he said.

What Ginobili might have missed, while catching his Zs, was the Spurs’ dream scenario come to fruition. Thanks to the Lakers’ 95-87 loss in Oakland hours later, the Spurs clinched the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed for the first time since 2005-06.

All along, coach Gregg Popovich has been blasé about the importance the conference’s top spot, a half-hearted “nobody would turn it down” being his most enthusiastic endorsement.

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned Danny Green to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Green (#4, 6’6”, 210, 6/22/87) most recently signed with the Spurs on March 16, appearing in three games totaling 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He originally signed with the Spurs on November 17, when he appeared in two games, totaling 6 points in 9 minutes, before being released on November 23. In between those two stints with the Spurs, Green saw action in 16 games with the Reno Bighorns, where he averaged 20.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.38 steals in 37.4 minutes per game. He shot .451 (114-253) from the field, .434 (36-83) from three-point territory and .795 (58-73) from the free throw line.

The Toros conclude the regular season tonight when they face the Texas Legends at 7:30 p.m. at the Cedar Park Center.

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Da’Sean Butler.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Butler, a 6-7, 230-pound forward out of the University of West Virginia, will be placed on the inactive list while continuing to rehab from a torn left ACL which he suffered in the 2010 Final Four against Duke on April 3.

Butler was originally selected by the Miami Heat with the 42nd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.  He signed with the Heat on August 30, but was later waived on October 25.

Butler played four seasons with the Mountaineers finishing his career with 107 career wins, the most in school history.  As a senior he was named First Team All-Big East, averaging a team-high 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 38 games.

As a junior Butler was named Second Team All-Big East, averaging a team-best 17.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.29 steals in 35 games.  During his sophomore season, Butler started all 37 games, averaging 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting a career-best .495 (186-376) from the field.  Butler was selected to the Big East All-Rookie Team as a freshman, averaging 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.28 steals in 36 games.

For his career Butler started in 110 of 146 games for the Mountaineers, averaging 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.06 steals while shooting .448 (741-1,654) from the field, .353 (205-581) from three-point range and .732 (408-557) from the foul line.  He scored 2,095 points during his career, ranking third in school history behind Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley.  Butler also ranks among school leaders in career double-figure scoring games (1st, 108), field goals (3rd, 741), three-pointers (4th, 205), free throws (5th, 408), rebounds (11th, 800) and steals (12th, 154).

Butler will wear #1 for the Spurs.

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard/forward Danny Green from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League for the remainder of the season.  Green becomes the 16th call-up of the 2010-11 D-League season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Green (#4, 6’6”, 210, 6/22/87) originally signed with the Spurs on November 17. He appeared in two games, totaling 6 points in 9 minutes, before being released on November 23. Most recently, in 16 games with Reno, he averaged 20.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.38 steals in 37.4 minutes per game. He shot .451 (114-253) from the field, .434 (36-83) from three-point territory and .795 (58-73) from the free throw line.

He appeared in 20 regular season games last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 2.0 points in 5.8 minutes per game.

Originally selected by Cleveland with the 46th pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft out of North Carolina, Green played in more games (145) and achieved more wins (123) than any Tar Heel player before him. He is the only player in ACC history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals. He had career averages of 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and a .455 shooting percentage from the field.