Fictional basketball: Where would Greg Popovich be if he got Ron Mercer instead of Tim Duncan in 1997

MrBigShot · Post #61 » by **MrBigShot** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:25 am

Even with the talent he had to work with, 5 championships is 5 championships. Not a fan of the way he's deflecting questions, team USA has such a major talent advantage so they should be winning. But the players have to be better too. 4/12 and 3/10 from KD and Dame ain't gonna cut it.

God Squad · Post #62 » by **God Squad** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:25 am

These Pop hot takes are pretty wild smh. I do believe he's lost a step in terms of either coaching or getting guys to listen/buy in.

G35 · Post #63 » by **G35** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:31 am

Roger Murdock wrote:I cant wait for the Pats to have another below average year so everyone can say Bill Belicheck sucks too.

Belichik's legacy is secured because he won with more than Brady, half of those Super Bowl teams won with defense than because of Brady...beating the Greatest Show on Turf Rams is a prime example.....

EArl · Post #64 » by **EArl** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:22 am

he would probably get fired at some point by the Spurs. He would go back to being an assistant until given a chance and move around teams in the NBA.

GrindCityHustle · Post #65 » by **GrindCityHustle** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 7:47 am

If Spurs had number 2 pick they would have likely taken Keith Van Horn who would have actually had a better career under Pop. Mercer was basically the same type of player as Derek Anderson who the Spurs got for cheap later on.

Just to play devils advocate...Pop prob could have won a title with a perfectly developed Van Horn, past prime David Robinson, fully prime SJax and brought in prime Kidd from the Nets circa 2002-2003. Kidd seriously thought about being a Spur. I think he could have pulled it off that year if he was still Spurs coach. We also forget Ginobili and Parker off the bench who the Spurs would have still taken in their respective drafts.

Duncan was special, I think even Pop knows this. If Memphis would have gotten number 1 in 2003, we could have kept our pick and chosen Lebron. Imagine how differently the Grizz would be looked at today lol.

TLDR, Pop made the most of the advantage he had to coach a generational player. Can't hate him for that.

Schiltzenberger · Post #66 » by **Schiltzenberger** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 8:13 am

I've never liked him since he sacked the coach and put himself in there, knowing they had Robinson and Elliot coming back from injury the next season, as well as adding Duncan or Van Horn to the team. They were always going to come back as a contender and Pop stole the glory.

Golden Knight · Post #67 » by **Golden Knight** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:54 am

GrindCityHustle wrote: We also forget Ginobili and Parker off the bench who the Spurs would have still taken in their respective drafts.

The Spurs being worse versions without Duncan definitely changes things.

They would draft much higher and it's not a guarantee they would have made the same picks.

In 1999, they picked HS player Leon Smith at no.29 (traded to Dallas, played only 15 games in the NBA for SEA and ATL) and Manu at no. 57.

In 2002 they would have picked someone else if they were much higher than no.28 (Parker). Their other two 2nd round picks that year never played in the NBA.

Maybe they would have developed someone else but who knows if they had the same natural talent as Parker and Ginobili.

DoctorX · Post #68 » by **DoctorX** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:46 pm

GrindCityHustle wrote:If Spurs had number 2 pick they would have likely taken Keith Van Horn who would have actually had a better career under Pop. Mercer was basically the same type of player as Derek Anderson who the Spurs got for cheap later on.

Just to play devils advocate...Pop prob could have won a title with a perfectly developed Van Horn, past prime David Robinson, fully prime SJax and brought in prime Kidd from the Nets circa 2002-2003. Kidd seriously thought about being a Spur. I think he could have pulled it off that year if he was still Spurs coach. We also forget Ginobili and Parker off the bench who the Spurs would have still taken in their respective drafts.

Duncan was special, I think even Pop knows this. If Memphis would have gotten number 1 in 2003, we could have kept our pick and chosen Lebron. Imagine how differently the Grizz would be looked at today lol.

TLDR, Pop made the most of the advantage he had to coach a generational player. Can't hate him for that.

Spurs never beat the Lakers in '99 or '03 with VanHorn. Duncan was always a huge thorn for Shaq. He was one of the few guys that could match him pound for pound and outplay him. Kidd only wanted to be a Spur because of Duncan. He's definitely not going to come to the Spurs to play with VanHorn especially in his prime.

Spurs probably don't draft Parker and Ginobili in their respective drafts because they would have had higher draft positions due to not having a good record like they did with Duncan. Drafting from low spots in the '99 and '01 draft forced the Spurs to scout heavily to find hidden talent. I don't think they would have done the same if they had a much higher pick in those drafts.

dhsilv2 · Post #69 » by **dhsilv2** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:49 pm

He'd have gone back to being a GM....people act like at the time Pop was seen as a coach. He wasn't...

Johnny Bball · Post #70 » by **Johnny Bball** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:51 pm

Such bitter beings... start a thread with nothing more than a veiled title that they don't like pop because he lost a game, infer his career is just luck (lmao) and have to be petulant about it.

Why is this open?

Post #71 » by **Yuri Vaultin** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 3:39 pm

Would have been as successful as Phil Jackson without Jordan and without Kobe and Shaq.

dhsilv2 · Post #72 » by **dhsilv2** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:42 pm

EArl wrote:he would probably get fired at some point by the Spurs. He would go back to being an assistant until given a chance and move around teams in the NBA.

He was the GM before he gave himself the head coach job TOO. Why would he become an assistant? He'd have just gone back to just the GM role...

chrisab123 · Post #73 » by **chrisab123** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:53 pm

Real Question is where would Rick Pitino be if the Celtics got Tim Duncan?

Scalabrine · Post #74 » by **Scalabrine** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:55 pm

UcanUwill wrote:
Bergmaniac wrote:He's 72 and past it, which is normal at this age, it doesn't take away all the great years he had as a coach.

He was in his prime when he subbed out Duncan out of the game that time they just needed one rebound to win a championship against the Heat.

I mean yeah in hindsight it was a very costly call, but the Heat were exploiting him and getting him to switch out on the perimeter and it wasn't working. It took an all-time shooter making an incredibly clutch shot buried in the corner for that to really look bad.

Arteezy · Post #75 » by **Arteezy** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:37 pm

G35 wrote:
Roger Murdock wrote:I cant wait for the Pats to have another below average year so everyone can say Bill Belicheck sucks too.

Belichik's legacy is secured because he won with more than Brady, half of those Super Bowl teams won with defense than because of Brady...beating the Greatest Show on Turf Rams is a prime example.....

Belichick without Tom Brady has a worse winning % than Adam Gase.

EArl · Post #76 » by **EArl** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:17 pm

chrisab123 wrote:Real Question is where would Rick Pitino be if the Celtics got Tim Duncan?

Please dont give me nightmares of that scenario.

Big J · Post #77 » by **Big J** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:39 pm

Pop was a father figure to a lot of the guys he coached. None of them knew what it was like to be disciplined and held accountable. We need more Pops in the league.

Danny1616 · Post #78 » by **Danny1616** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:42 pm

G35 wrote:
Roger Murdock wrote:I cant wait for the Pats to have another below average year so everyone can say Bill Belicheck sucks too.

Belichik's legacy is secured because he won with more than Brady, half of those Super Bowl teams won with defense than because of Brady...beating the Greatest Show on Turf Rams is a prime example.....

It was still largely because of Brady.

Patriots with the same core finished 5-11 in 2000 and started the season 0-2 with Bledsoe. Brady led the team to an 11-4 record as a rookie QB, was much more efficient than Bledsoe and less turnover prone, despite having a relatively weak supporting cast of receivers. Brady has always been an efficient, low turnover and excellent decision maker.

Brady was still great in 2004-2005 with Branch as his best receiver and in 2006 with Caldwell as his best receiver. After Branch left Brady he was no longer an all-pro receiver and after Caldwell left Brady he was out of the league. Once Brady had some real weapons in 2007 he broke every single season passing record in NFL history to that point.

Even if we did concede that the Patriots defense was so important, Brady still led the Patriots to 4 more SB's and the Bucs to a SB from 2007-2021, with the offense clearly being better than the defense. No QB has ever won 5 SB's in NFL history.

So you take away Brady's first 5 years in the NFL and his resume from 2007-2021 is still the GOAT, that's how insane he's been.

TheRealKaboom · Post #79 » by **TheRealKaboom** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:47 pm

Fired. The way he's treated sideline reporters throughout his career is gross. Can only imagine how he treats subordinates, co-workers, and family members. He's an awful person.

druggas · Post #80 » by **druggas** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:53 pm

Schiltzenberger wrote:I've never liked him since he sacked the coach and put himself in there, knowing they had Robinson and Elliot coming back from injury the next season, as well as adding Duncan or Van Horn to the team. They were always going to come back as a contender and Pop stole the glory.

Well said.