For the first time since the 1996–97 season, the San Antonio Spurs failed to succeed in the playoffs.And an NBA executive told CNBC’s Jabari Young that he would fire legendary head coach Gregg Popovich if he gave him the reins of the franchise.
“The leader who wanted Popovich to leave laughed at the idea,” Young said.”He knows the odds are slim, but he remembered Popovich’s first move when he talked about the Spurs in 1996: he fired then-coach Bob Hill.”
Spurs are at an attractive time. On the one hand, Popovich has taken them to five titles, 22 playoff appearances and consolidated them as one of the best managed organizations in the professional game in the United States.He earned the right coach a winner.
The question is whether Spurs already have the basis of a winner.
“We think we’re well placed with the combination of veterans we have and the combination of young players along the way,” General Manager Brian Wright told Young.
That’s debatable. Unless primary adjustments are made to the flexible agency, Spurs want a reboot of the list.Veterans couple DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge probably aren’t smart enough to take the Spurs to the playoffs at this point, let them compete for titles.around Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV and other young players would make more sense.
Of course, Popovich would possibly do well with a reconstruction and, in any case, there’s no indication that he’s leaving the team.
Chief executive RC Buford told Young that the Spurs “assumed” that Popovich would be back next year.
“Pop hasn’t shown anything about how we’re going to build our team for next year,” he added.
If he left, several would call him quickly. The Brooklyn Nets, along with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, would be a logical solution, while the Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons would be another.
So, even if Popovich shot (he won’t), he wouldn’t run out of paintings for long.