San Antonio Spurs Find Tim Duncan Heir Apparent with Serbian Boban Marjanovic, Signs Manu Ginobili

By Komfie Manalo
Boban Marjanovic
The San Antonio Spurs signed 7-foot-3 Serbian Boban Marjanovic.  Getty image

The San Antonio Spurs have added another big man to its roster when it signed 7-foot-3 Serbian Boban Marjanovic to have three towers in its line up, with Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Marjanovic averaged 16.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and one assist in 27.3 minutes for Crvena Zvezda in his 24 Euroleague games last season, reported Rant Sports. The 26-year-old Marjanovic has been a member of the Serbian National Team since 2011 and has played in 19 Serbian League games last season, where he averaged 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 19.6 minutes. He won the Serbian Super League MVP three times and was a member of the 2015 All-Euroleague team.

Marjanovic is expected to play a key role in the Spurs roster after San Antonio lost Aron Baynes to free agency and Tiago Splitter in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Spurs intend to use Marjanovic as a second unit to provide Duncan some rest, a role usually held by Baynes and Splitter. But Marjanovic size is seen to provide San Antonio tremendous defense and provide rebounding powers. His scoring abilities could also play a major role in the Spurs' offense.

On Monday, the Spurs officially signed Manu Ginobili for a two-year $5.7 million contract. Rapid News Network said Ginobili sacrificed tremendously, including his playing time, money and body for his teammates and coach.

Last week, the powerhouse recruitment team of San Antonio, including Duncan, Tony Parker and general manager R.C. Buford to signed the most coveted free agent on the market, Texas native Aldridge.

Aldridge, who spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, averaged a career high 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per outing during the 2014-15 NBA Season. With a four-year, $80 million contract with the Spurs, Aldridge could be the next franchise of the San Antonio's storied NBA history. For his part, Duncan signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Spurs.

The team is seeking its 6th NBA title and Aldridge could provide the last link for that dream.

One tiny problem though, Aldridge has been using jersey #12, the same retired jersey number used by Bruce Bowen, one of the greatest small power forwards in the San Antonio Spurs who was also part of the team's NBA Championship titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Bowen, who retired in 2009, was also named to NBA All-Defensive teams for eight consecutive years (2003-2008), the last five seasons as a first team selection.

Several NBA insiders said the Spurs were the biggest winner in the free agency signing with the acquisition of Aldridge, David West, and signing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to major extensions. The addition of Marjanovic has given the Spurs a potential heir apparent to Duncan.

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