Gregg Popovich with Ron Mercer instead of Tim Duncan in the 97 draft

AMW27 · Post #21 » by **AMW27** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:41 pm

LloydFree wrote:
draftnightsuit wrote:If Popovich landed the #2 pick and ended up with Keith Van Horn he’d be fired before 2000.

No he wouldn't have. He was the GM. He would have never come down to the bench to steal Bob Hill's job, if they hadn't won the lottery.

Hill was fired after the first 18 games of the 1996-1997 season. This was before the draft lottery came. Now if Spurs didn't win the lottery to draft Duncan then maybe Pop goes back to the office and hires a new head coach.

Ferulci · Post #22 » by **Ferulci** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:43 pm

Arteezy wrote:Make your guess on where he would be now.

Philipines?

Canada?

College?

Watch on YouTube

Lockdown504090 · Post #23 » by **Lockdown504090** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:46 pm

This doesn't work here. For example, Spo, kerr, and Doc all have rings with overpowered rosters. Would you compare any of the Spurs' rosters to those? He has beaten teams with better rosters than his repeatedly in the playoffs, which is not something I can say these other coaches have demonstrated. Pop would be considered Brad Stevens if he never got Duncan, and that is still what will probably be a hall of fame coach.

Calvin Klein · Post #24 » by **Calvin Klein** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:48 pm

This is **** insane. Now Popovich is a mediocre coach.

NCHeels2008 · Post #25 » by **NCHeels2008** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:00 pm

TheBoi10 wrote:Who knows. Without TIm Duncan and Kawhi Leonard no one knows who Popovich is.

Without Pop people most likely don't care about Kawhi

Mogspan · Post #26 » by **Mogspan** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:45 pm

I really admire Pop's intelligence and ability to command respect from players, but he is totally a sanctimonious curmudgeon. He is beloved by fans and media for his wit and wokism, but would he still get a pass for his a-hole qualities if he weren't gifted with an all-time great talent like Duncan? He is also somewhat of a hypocrite since he would adamantly defend Bruce Bowen for his dirty defensive tactics, yet he had a meltdown when Zaza employed the same thing against him.

Shock Defeat · Post #27 » by **Shock Defeat** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:47 pm

Kerr would be nothing without Curry, Klay, draymond, Iggy, KD...

Johnny Bball · Post #28 » by **Johnny Bball** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:49 pm

A lame joke about winning in china is the basis for this entire concept?

perimeter · Post #29 » by **perimeter** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:05 pm

Arteezy wrote:Make your guess on where he would be now.

Head Men's Basketball Coach at the United States Air Force Academy

Post #30 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:24 pm

The only time we've ever seen Duncan without Pop was in college and in the Olympics.

0 Championships, and some big flameouts in that time.

Am I doing it right?

macNcheese3 · Post #31 » by **macNcheese3** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:44 pm

Definitely would not be in the convo for GOAT coach.

Ke-y · Post #32 » by **Ke-y** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:52 pm

Everyone's performance (in every profession) peaks at some point.. I don't get why ppl think great coaches will always be great. Pop is GOAT coach and to judge him based on recent failures would be unfair. Pop's track record speaks for itself.. he always got his teams to buy-in and outperform most other teams regardless of talent. At this stage of his career he's prob still an elite coach but his best days are behind him for sure.

TheBoi10 · Post #33 » by **TheBoi10** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:15 pm

NCHeels2008 wrote:
TheBoi10 wrote:Who knows. Without TIm Duncan and Kawhi Leonard no one knows who Popovich is.

Without Pop people most likely don't care about Kawhi

Kawhi just had one of the greatest individual playoff runs of all-time and destroyed the 2nd best team of all-time's dynasty. While Popovich embarrassed and exposed himself this year.

First Take · Post #34 » by **First Take** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:23 pm

It's hard to answer this question. That's like saying what if the Blazers selected Kevin Durant with the #1 pick in NBA draft in 2007.

CeltsFlow · Post #35 » by **CeltsFlow** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:30 pm

Lol why is this even a discussion?

PHXCavaliers · Post #36 » by **PHXCavaliers** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:35 pm

I feel like the disrespect for Ron Mercer is high in this thread also

asdfgh · Post #37 » by **asdfgh** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:19 pm

I am old enough to be watching the NBA in 97, and Pop was a respected and sought after GM at the time, which is why the Spurs hired him. My guess is that he would have done a decent job with the Spurs, or whatever other teams he worked with afterwards, but he probably wouldn't have gotten into coaching.

druggas · Post #38 » by **druggas** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:43 pm

LloydFree wrote:
draftnightsuit wrote:If Popovich landed the #2 pick and ended up with Keith Van Horn he’d be fired before 2000.

No he wouldn't have. He was the GM. He would have never come down to the bench to steal Bob Hill's job, if they hadn't won the lottery.

No truer words than these.

Post #39 » by **kulaz3000** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:53 pm

Name me a coach who won multiple championships without hall of fame players on his roster?

A head coach can only do so much with the talent the players he has on his roster, and even then, many coaches fail. To dimish Pop's accomplishments because a USA team with subpar talent lost is ludicris.

AMW27 · Post #40 » by **AMW27** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 12:01 am

druggas wrote:
LloydFree wrote:
draftnightsuit wrote:If Popovich landed the #2 pick and ended up with Keith Van Horn he’d be fired before 2000.

No he wouldn't have. He was the GM. He would have never come down to the bench to steal Bob Hill's job, if they hadn't won the lottery.

No truer words than these.

Hill was fired 18 games into the season. Well before the draft.

Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using RealGM mobile app