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http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... Retirement

After seeing the headline he'll follow Duncan into retirement the first thing I thought was, how convenient. I've wondered the last couple of years what happens to the Spurs when Duncan hangs em up and they're not centered around Duncan. I know Pop is a great coach, but the Spurs always get these great accolades for finding these late draft gems and have them contribute to the team. I've always felt it makes a mediocre player look better playing next to the best PF Earth has ever seen. I wanted to see Pop work his magic without Duncan to get an even better barometer on his ability as a coach.

Best coach in the game.

How good was Phil when he didn't have Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe or Kobe/Pau? How good was Riley without Magic/Kareem or Wade/Shaq? Aurbach without 5 HoFers??

Success pretty much always requires great talent, but there have been plenty of teams with great talent that never achieved that sort of success. Talent doesn't diminish the coaches success, it's all gotta be there in harmony and balancing those egos is as much a part of what makes those coaches great as anything.

Pop is a bball genius.

Really, really freaking good.

Do you realize the injury problems the Spurs had to deal with this year?

Snakebites wrote:Really, really freaking good.

Do you realize the injury problems the Spurs had to deal with this year?

Ummm, yeah ok. That much is clear, and I've also made it clear that I think Pop is good. But I guess this is moreso about the Spurs organization as a whole. The Spurs get lauded probably more than anyone else with finding gems, and Pop gets credit for getting more out of these type of players than anybody else would. I'm just saying its easier to get alot out of an unknown when he's surrounded by a Tim Duncan.

Example, we have guys like Singler, Jerebko (early Jerebko years), Middleton (looks good going forward) who are all late finds. Even guys in the past like Amir and Memo who have gone on to have really productive careers. Guys like that are who would be on the Spurs thriving causing the whole "the Spurs are great at finding gems late" when in fact other teams can make a case as well.

Popovich is proof positive of backing your coach over the players. It allows them control and to completely implement their system over years and drafts - so all the players on the team fit the team and the system. He's a great coach, but he has great players who fit his style and system.

Pop is the best coach in the NBA, maybe on the planet.

Sure, having Duncan was a huge piece of the gameplan, but he's had player like Ginobili willingly and happily take a role off the bench for the betterment of the team. He gets his team to play great defense and offense, and cultivates the best internal culture in the NBA.

He's the full package for a coach. I would take him over Phil Jackson any day of the week.

The best coach in the NBA very easily, and his basketball knowledge, ability to adjust and get the most out of players is second to none.

He gets everyone to buy in and takes guys like Danny Green who were previously known for dancing on the sidelines with the Cavs and turns him into a 3 & D guy.

Pop is the best. When I think of the Spurs, I think of Duncan/Manu/Parker and Pop.

He still wins if td sits.

It's a reflection on the entire Spurs organization really. It's much easier to win when everyone has the same objectives in a system that works.
Pop is a great coach who is allowed to be great because he has the full support of the franchise he coaches for.

He's one of the most important things that MAKES it a great organization.

ComboGuardCity wrote:He still wins if td sits.

He nearly coached the Spurs to victory against a healthy Miami at Miami when TD, TP, Manu, and Danny Green were all sent home.

As much as I love studs like Gary Neal and Matt Bonner, Pop is what makes it go.

Pop is very good, best coach in the NBA for me. He is one of the main reasons that the Spurs have been so good for so long. But the Spurs organisation as a whole is excellent.

Plus he gives the best interviews of any coach in the NBA

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcegYF_Ti78[/youtube]

Pop IS the Spurs organisation

He was named executive VP of Basketball operations/GM in 1994!

Gave up being the GM in 2002 (R.C Buford took that job and still has it!)

Been coaching the Spurs since 1996... still has that job

Is now the President of the Spurs

The Spurs are held up as a model for the rest of the NBA and IMO fans read that and think "because they get reaosonable players to team with Duncan, Parker, Manu they're smart".... missing the big picture

The Spurs are the model for the rest of the NBA because they have they have a system and it has worked for over 20 years! Yes they had David Robinson and then Tium Duncan as the Franchise player for the entire period but those guys had to believe and buy into the Spurs organisation completely... and they did.

Stability is HUGE! Having the same GM and Coach for over a decade is a massive advantage.

They don't try to re-invent the wheel, they don't adjust to new fads, they don't change things up to compete with other teams. Yes, having Duncan on the roster provides a massive advantage but they have endured several roster overhauls in the last 20 years and they are still successful.

Why? How? What do they do that other teams don't do?

All you have to do is look at Pop - been there for almost 20 years and his right hand man (Buford) has been there for more than 10 years! That kind of stability can't be under-estimated. That kind of stability breeds success, breeds confidence, creates a culture

Finding the players that fit? That's the easy part

You can take Duncan, Parker, Manu etc away from that franchise... they will replace them with quality players eventually. The Draft would give them chances to find those calibre of players.

But if you take away Pop... where do you get his replacement?

You have to realy look at the coaches the Spurs had before him. His defense is in many ways the opposite of what your taught but it works. No I dont think he can turn around a team like Brown but hes a very solid coach that commands respect.

DetroitSho wrote:http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/227386/Popovich-Reiterates-Plan-To-Follow-Duncan-Into-Retirement

After seeing the headline he'll follow Duncan into retirement the first thing I thought was, how convenient. I've wondered the last couple of years what happens to the Spurs when Duncan hangs em up and they're not centered around Duncan. I know Pop is a great coach, but the Spurs always get these great accolades for finding these late draft gems and have them contribute to the team. I've always felt it makes a mediocre player look better playing next to the best PF Earth has ever seen. I wanted to see Pop work his magic without Duncan to get an even better barometer on his ability as a coach.

Duncan is playing great this year, but he's certainly not the TD of yesteryear. Yet, like clockwork, The Spurs are at the top of the western conference, yet again. He's done a great job the past few years taking the longview with his team and keeping them playing at a high level deep into their careers. He certainly must be lauded for that.

Also, I don't get the "Oh, he's retiring along with Duncan...how convenient" line of thinking. They've developed a bond and a brand of basketball. It doesn't make any sense for him to essentially start over at his age.

If not Popovich, I'm curious as to who the OP thinks are the great coaches in the game today.

i love his f* interviews. man is a genius. i love how everybody, and i mean everybody knows pop is a great coach and yet someone still trying to say its not him. Half the players on spurs team at any given moment are 9-10th men off the bench on others. he truly knows how to utilize players

Absolutely amazing, the greatest overall coach in NBA history

Clarity wrote:Absolutely amazing, the greatest overall coach in NBA history

He's great, but you're overrating him quite a bit.

Goldtop wrote:

Clarity wrote:Absolutely amazing, the greatest overall coach in NBA history

He's great, but you're overrating him quite a bit.

I view coaches in different realms personally.

Phil Jackson is the best talent manager ever but x & o's wise, hes slightly above avg to me.

Larry Brown is the best x & o's coach ever imo.

Pop is a bit of both.

Again, just my opinion. This isnt a cut & dry discussion.