Greg Popovitch

[davi78239]

Anyone else think that as long as this guy is coaching Spurs that this will prevent noted free agents from coming here? I think he’s respected but most don’t wanna play for him.

[FkLA]

No. Being a small-market, non-destination city is why noone comes here.

[MultiTroll]

Mostly.
Not entirely.

Even prior to Nephew getting Zaza'd, that season Kwa was having an MVP year literally. It was either him or LeBron. 3'4th of the way thru Popped decided that he had to get LMAs sore vag some more action as he was no doubt pouting about touches and points. F'd up Kwas 90/50/40 run big time.

That having been said, Popped had a great game plan for Game 1 which included riding Kwa's coatails. I believe the Zaza was the end of any Spurs Championship chances post Duncan / pre Pop exit. But even before that the buring Kwa to give whiney LMA more stat padding was a turn off to potential top FA's imo. These top guys want endorsement deals.

[DMC]

No. Being a small-market, non-destination city is why noone comes here.

Combination of things.

1. Pop is a system coach. Even great players will have to take statistical hits to play within it and get no credit for successes. It's designed for those unicorn players who can keep a low profile and play great ball, and be surrounded by scrubs who can be told what to do.
2. There's nothing for a young black man to do in San Antonio except for buy a house in the semi-desert and build a court that's too fucking hot to play on 6 months out of the year. They would have to vacay elsewhere. Sure, players who made their ways up from G League status found home there, but they have to get them oats out first, can't do that in the land of barbacoa tacos and modelo.

[MultiTroll]

Combination of things.

1. Pop is a system coach. Even great players will have to take statistical hits to play within it and get no credit for successes. It's designed for those unicorn players who can keep a low profile and play great ball, and be surrounded by scrubs who can be told what to do.
Give examples of great players who have come to Spurs to do this please.

[alpha_HaZE]

Pop was just voted the No. 1 coach NBA would like to play for, are you kidding me. He is the main reason LA is here and Timmy did not go anywhere.

[therealtruth]

Pop was just voted the No. 1 coach NBA would like to play for, are you kidding me. He is the main reason LA is here and Timmy did not go anywhere.

And the main reason LMA wanted to leave.

[exstatic]

Combination of things.

1. Pop is a system coach. Even great players will have to take statistical hits to play within it and get no credit for successes. It's designed for those unicorn players who can keep a low profile and play great ball, and be surrounded by scrubs who can be told what to do.
2. There's nothing for a young black man to do in San Antonio except for buy a house in the semi-desert and build a court that's too fucking hot to play on 6 months out of the year. They would have to vacay elsewhere. Sure, players who made their ways up from G League status found home there, but they have to get them oats out first, can't do that in the land of barbacoa tacos and modelo.

:lol. It’s not fucking El Paso. That pretty much what you described.

[SpursDynasty85]

And the main reason LMA wanted to leave.

The real reason he left was because he choked in a tough position. When the arguable MVP and future HOF'er (Kawhi) gets savagely injured after having his Kawhiso ball heading for steam against the most talented team ever assembled and then to have everyone blame you because you can't will a team against 3-4 hof'ers against himself. Pop messed up a bit by calling LA out in public but it was what everyone was thinking anyway. His possible future earnings were about to take a dip. These were legit concern on both sides. They got together and showed faith in each other by signing their last extension. Bringing things like this up is a waste of time and space on the board.

[Atl Spur]

Combination of things.

1. Pop is a system coach. Even great players will have to take statistical hits to play within it and get no credit for successes. It's designed for those unicorn players who can keep a low profile and play great ball, and be surrounded by scrubs who can be told what to do.
2. There's nothing for a young black man to do in San Antonio except for buy a house in the semi-desert and build a court that's too fucking hot to play on 6 months out of the year. They would have to vacay elsewhere. Sure, players who made their ways up from G League status found home there, but they have to get them oats out first, can't do that in the land of barbacoa tacos and modelo.

The kind of bread they make it’s gravey anywhere on the planet!! Lol. Don’t feed into that nothing to do bullshit; some places will always be better than others. You can win in San Antonio like any other city!!

[cd98]

Pop is a players coach. His problem is that he is a victim of the Spurs's success. You stay out of the lottery for like 20 years, and eventually your team is going to rundown. Heck, look at the Lakers. They are the prime destination in the NBA. And they still suck.

[DMC]

Give examples of great players who have come to Spurs to do this please.

Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili

[DMC]

The kind of bread they make it’s gravey anywhere on the planet!! Lol. Don’t feed into that nothing to do bullshit; some places will always be better than others. You can win in San Antonio like any other city!!

Because they can win anywhere, they have 29 other NBA teams and locations to pick. They also won't go to Cleveland or Milwaukee.

[DMC]

:lol. It’s not fucking El Paso. That pretty much what you described.

To someone who could live in LA, Miami or New York, it's about the same as living in Ciudad Juarez.

[UZER]

Pop is a players coach. His problem is that he is a victim of the Spurs's success. You stay out of the lottery for like 20 years, and eventually your team is going to rundown. Heck, look at the Lakers. They are the prime destination in the NBA. And they still suck.

This is a myth. If he’s such a players coach, then why do no big name free agents want to come play for the “goat” and most beloved players coach. There have been multiple star free agents that say they would love to play for the Spurs, but when the times comes to put up or shut up, they don’t come. They love Pop from afar, but don’t want to play in his system. LaMarcus came, and he immediately wanted out. :lol

He’s not a players coach. He’s a coache’s pet coach. Bonner was on the team for 10 years. Explain that.

[RC_Drunkford]

Bonner was on the team for 10 years. Explain that.

He made good sandwiches

[paperboy77]

No. Being a small-market, non-destination city is why noone comes here.

Sad but true. SA is a big-time underachieving town. There’s nothing to do there and the little that there is is always too damn crowded and full of young n dumb people.

[dbreiden83080]

Yeah they will want to go play for that former PG of the NY Liberty.. :rolleyes

[Rosewood]

Some of these responses makes me question if some of you are really Spurs fans :wakeup

[dbreiden83080]

No. Being a small-market, non-destination city is why noone comes here.

And yet that drafted well enough, and put enough pieces around Tim to win 5 chips in his amazing career. And still are competitive after their top 5 franchise player bitched out. Pop/RC and the Spurs org are pretty fucking amazing..

[dbreiden83080]

Some of these responses makes me question if some of you are really Spurs fans :wakeup

A lot of trolling. You should have seen the way many of them talked about Tony. And that is when Tony was playing great in 2007 and winning the title. Still all over him..

[Maddog]

This is a myth. If he’s such a players coach, then why do no big name free agents want to come play for the “goat” and most beloved players coach. There have been multiple star free agents that say they would love to play for the Spurs, but when the times comes to put up or shut up, they don’t come. They love Pop from afar, but don’t want to play in his system. LaMarcus came, and he immediately wanted out. :lol

He’s not a players coach. He’s a coache’s pet coach. Bonner was on the team for 10 years. Explain that.

When did the Spurs last have cap space to sign a big name free agent?

[Rosewood]

A lot of trolling. You should have seen the way many of them talked about Tony. And that is when Tony was playing great in 2007 and winning the title. Still all over him.. The shtick posting on this site is both the most entertaining and most annoying thing about it.

[MultiTroll]

Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili
1. Drafted. Explored Orlando and came within one "Your family cannot ride on the plane" from going to Orlando.
2. Drafted. After Timmy Dunks came on board of course he was staying.
3. Drafted. Told Pop to shove his system up his ass. Pop did (to Pops credit), gave Manu freedom and of course he stayed with the Big 3 and great pick ups like Robert Horry, Bowen.

FOH.
You have named Zero big FAs who came here.
Other then Softridge. Who wanted out and we see the results of his staying.

[sasaint]

:lol. It’s not fucking El Paso. That pretty much what you described.

This. It's a two way street. Pop doesn't want most FA's any more than they want to work hard for Pop and live in SA.

[Frenchfred]

The Spurs have never attracted a top player. Sorry but San Antonio is not an interesting city especially if you are a youngster.

[ZeusWillJudge]

For almost 20 years, the Spurs had the Big 3. Those teams had the highest overall winning percentage of any team in any major sport over that period of time. FA's knew that there was already a Big 3, and they weren't part of it. So, yeah, some of them probably opted to go somewhere they could be an alpha dog. That was Pop's decision, but not his "fault". If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Some of it is money. Once again, if you have a Big 3 like Tim, Tony, and Manu you know you have to pay them to keep them. And you have a salary cap. So do you make a big FA signing and chance not being able to keep a team together in the future? Not if you're smart. Also, the money a player can make off of endorsements in SA just can't compare to what they can make in a big market - ESPECIALLY a big name player like the ones the OP is talking about. Jason Kidd claimed that the deciding factor was that there wasn't a big market TV station for his wife to work for.

Are there some who don't want to come to a town without world-class titty bars? Sure. If that's how they would make their decision, there's a good chance that they didn't get asked by PATFO. Don't forget that SpursTalk thinks the Spurs should sign EVERY big name FA that comes available, but we mostly don't know which ones the Spurs seriously pursue.

Most mid-tier FA's know that Pop doesn't hand out a lot of minutes in the first year, and maybe some of them have avoided signing here because of it. We don't know for sure, but maybe. And there may be some lazy-assed players who don't want to be held accountable, like they know Pop will. Other than that, it's not Pop's "fault" if a FA doesn't sign here.

But I just love the people who don't live in SA lecturing about life is (or isn't) in SA.

[cd98]

This is a myth. If he’s such a players coach, then why do no big name free agents want to come play for the “goat” and most beloved players coach. There have been multiple star free agents that say they would love to play for the Spurs, but when the times comes to put up or shut up, they don’t come. They love Pop from afar, but don’t want to play in his system. LaMarcus came, and he immediately wanted out. :lol

He’s not a players coach. He’s a coache’s pet coach. Bonner was on the team for 10 years. Explain that.

Welp. First, we did get LMA. You may scoff at that, but he was the biggest name on the market and an all star when he came to S.A. But mostly it's because we haven't had money. Someone could always pay more. Players like Pop, they just like guaranteed money more, especially when the guaranteed money is a lot more than what the Spurs can offer.

That said, there are not a lot of superstars changing teams in free agency. When that rarity happens, it's always to a California team.

[cjw]

Welp. First, we did get LMA. You may scoff at that, but he was the biggest name on the market and an all star when he came to S.A. But mostly it's because we haven't had money. Someone could always pay more. Players like Pop, they just like guaranteed money more, especially when the guaranteed money is a lot more than what the Spurs can offer.

That said, there are not a lot of superstars changing teams in free agency. When that rarity happens, it's always to a California team.

This.

1.) Go look at how many free agents have actually changed teams. It’s usually done via trade, and the Spurs have often lacked trade assets because they literally have not picked inside of pick 20 since Duncan. Well until this year with pick 19.

2.) Other than the year they signed Aldridge, they have always lacked space for a max free agent.

[jjktkk]

And the main reason LMA wanted to leave.

Weak minded.

[DMC]

1. Drafted. Explored Orlando and came within one "Your family cannot ride on the plane" from going to Orlando.
2. Drafted. After Timmy Dunks came on board of course he was staying.
3. Drafted. Told Pop to shove his system up his ass. Pop did (to Pops credit), gave Manu freedom and of course he stayed with the Big 3 and great pick ups like Robert Horry, Bowen.

FOH.
You have named Zero big FAs who came here.
Other then Softridge. Who wanted out and we see the results of his staying.

You said came to San Antonio. They all chose to come here, even if they were drafted. Then they chose to stay with multiple opportunities to leave.

"of course he was staying".. not necessarily

Despite the lack of big names, they have the same number of rings as any other team in the past 25 years. Lakers had lots of big names. They got 5 rings. Spurs had just draft picks. They got 5 rings. There are teams all over the NBA with big names. They have no rings. Only one team will win a ring this year, probably the Warriors. Big names in Houston, Boston and elsewhere will just be names without rings.

[superbigtime]

really nailed the spelling tbh

[UnWantedTheory]

For almost 20 years, the Spurs had the Big 3. Those teams had the highest overall winning percentage of any team in any major sport over that period of time. FA's knew that there was already a Big 3, and they weren't part of it. So, yeah, some of them probably opted to go somewhere they could be an alpha dog. That was Pop's decision, but not his "fault". If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Some of it is money. Once again, if you have a Big 3 like Tim, Tony, and Manu you know you have to pay them to keep them. And you have a salary cap. So do you make a big FA signing and chance not being able to keep a team together in the future? Not if you're smart. Also, the money a player can make off of endorsements in SA just can't compare to what they can make in a big market - ESPECIALLY a big name player like the ones the OP is talking about. Jason Kidd claimed that the deciding factor was that there wasn't a big market TV station for his wife to work for.

Are there some who don't want to come to a town without world-class titty bars? Sure. If that's how they would make their decision, there's a good chance that they didn't get asked by PATFO. Don't forget that SpursTalk thinks the Spurs should sign EVERY big name FA that comes available, but we mostly don't know which ones the Spurs seriously pursue.

Most mid-tier FA's know that Pop doesn't hand out a lot of minutes in the first year, and maybe some of them have avoided signing here because of it. We don't know for sure, but maybe. And there may be some lazy-assed players who don't want to be held accountable, like they know Pop will. Other than that, it's not Pop's "fault" if a FA doesn't sign here.

But I just love the people who don't live in SA lecturing about life is (or isn't) in SA.
Well said.