Pop undecided on coaching Spurs after this season - UPDATE (30-4-2019): 3-Year Contract

Post #1 » by **-Sammy-** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:31 pm

RealGM article

I've long-expected him to shut it down after the 2020 Olympics, so I think sticking for a final season to stay active, develop Murray, and give the team plenty of time to chart a post-Pop course is the most Pop-like scenario. What do y'all think?

Post #2 » by **G R E Y** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:25 pm

Hhhhhnnnnn so not ready for this if it's this year. I've thought it would be as you've described, Sammy, and it's a 'natural' progression that several local writers have written as well. Then again, there are some basketball and non-basketball related signs that it may be this season. I really hope not, but that has no bearing on anything. Pop has always struck me as a prepare-for-all-eventualities sort (he often refers to these cue cards he has on hand in games, and he handed out something similar to players at the Team USA prep in the summer), but in the end, a doer.

On the one hand, his contract and Ettore's are up by this season, on the other, Ettore was almost hired by another team before this season began. On the one hand, had Dejounte not gone down with an injury, he would have had that transition year this season, but Dejounte is also being included in coaching sessions. Then again, Pop said that he'd coach as long as LMA had his contract when LMA re-signed, and Patty would not be going anywhere so long as he was coach, and they've got a little longer left on their contracts. On the one hand, Pop has never said that coaching both NBA and Olympics would be too much (doer), on the other, he surely has many interests outside of basketball, so a balance of those and time spent with family, etc., are also factors. But that's a balance he's maintained for the better part of over two decades, so I could also see Pop going all in in the final year or two and while preparations for a transition are made. Perhaps it also depends on whether or not we lose anyone as coach to another team. Basketball has been such a huge part of his life for so long, and it has been written that getting back into its routine has helped him through his personal ordeal, so I could see him coaching even beyond Olympics even if it's not in the NBA, or doing something with where development of the game / youth / community help intersect sort of thing.

It really sounds like there are some preparations in place for whichever outcome happens, and that it's really still undecided. I hope he stays on with the Spurs as coach till 2020, but I hope that whatever Pop chooses that he's happy - that's right, Pop, I said happy.

Post #3 » by **G R E Y** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:18 pm

Also, there's this, so fingers crossed Pop comes back:

Read on Twitter

Barnsey · Post #4 » by **Barnsey** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:25 pm

To be honest, the fact that he has been saying that all the 3pt shooting in the modern era makes the game boring to coach makes me wonder if he has lost a bit of passion

Post #5 » by **G R E Y** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:33 pm

Meh Pop's been saying that for years, but has still utilized the 3 to maximize team strengths. We led the league in % when we won it all in 2014 (and were I think 17 in # of attempts) and here we are leading the league in 3% again yet at or near last in attempts. I don't think this one thing alone, his long standing position about the 3 (a part of a broader discussion about what the game has morphed into and away from as a result), can be taken as a comment on lack of passion for the game or a deciding factor of what he will do. He and we are still bucking trends (while adopting what works for us) and winning. Still teaching and learning the right way of developing and playing. And when we play our best game, it stills stands out as beautiful team ball as a result.

Post #6 » by **G R E Y** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:56 pm

Oh yeah! Looks far more promising than I thought a couple of days ago. If true (nothing's final until there's ink on the contract), then this is great news:

Read on Twitter

Sources: Popovich expected to sign 3-year deal

Once Gregg Popovich formally commits to return for his 24th season as San Antonio Spurs coach, he's expected to sign a three-year contract that will keep him as the highest paid coach in the NBA, league sources told ESPN.

A Popovich contract extension has been a foregone conclusion for months, but the deal won't change the fact that he will continue taking his coaching future on a year-to-year basis, league sources said. Spurs ownership believes he's entitled to manage his future how he wishes, sources said.

Popovich will coach Team USA in the FIBA World Cup in China in September, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. There's always been some belief that he could use the Olympics as a final coaching act, but that remains unclear.

Popovich has 1,245 victories, third on the all-time list behind Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkins.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26640820/sources-popovich-expected-sign-3-year-deal