TMZ: Pop Suffers Medical Emergency at Restaurant, Taken Via Ambulance

[Joseph Kony]

1913304471729569987

Felt like this deserved it's own thread. Hope he's alright

Please Pop, for your own sake...it's time to hand over the reigns.

[scott]

Hope he is alright... but this should put to bed any notion that he'll return as Head Coach (if this is true).

But mostly right I'm hoping he is getting good care and his family is with him.

[Leetonidas]

Crazy that this happened last night and not a peep from our local sports guys about it

This fucking sucks tbh. I know a lot of people want pop to retire but I don't think any one of us wants it to happen like this :depressed

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Probably had to much wine against doctors order :lol pop would rather die than put the wine down

[Dejounte]

Thanks for everything, Pop.

[scott]

Crazy that this happened last night and not a peep from our local sports guys about it

This fucking sucks tbh. I know a lot of people want pop to retire but I don't think any one of us wants it to happen like this :depressed

SS&E doesn't think the people who keep them in business (the fans) are worthy of knowing anything, and local media is too afraid of crossing them. Complete feckless cowards.

Fucking shameful that we have to rely on fucking TMZ for news about our beloved HOF coach.

[Dex]

Probably had to much wine against doctors order :lol pop would rather die than put the wine down

Congrats on being the first asshole to reply with a stupid comment thinking you are funny.

[Raven]

ouch. I guess this settles it then. Sad.

[dn0774]

SS&E doesn't think the people who keep them in business (the fans) are worthy of knowing anything, and local media is too afraid of crossing them. Complete feckless cowards.

Fucking shameful that we have to rely on fucking TMZ for news about our beloved HOF coach.

Seen it a few times, but what is SS&E? ty in advance

[scott]

Seen it a few times, but what is SS&E? ty in advance

Spurs Sports & Entertainment

[Leetonidas]

SS&E doesn't think the people who keep them in business (the fans) are worthy of knowing anything, and local media is too afraid of crossing them. Complete feckless cowards.

Fucking shameful that we have to rely on fucking TMZ for news about our beloved HOF coach.

It's even worse, this wasnt last night it was on Tuesday so three days ago and we have to learn about it from TMZ?? Shameful

[dn0774]

I can only hope the ambulance ride was more due to an abundance of caution (like if he felt a little lightheaded, stood up too fast etc) but still scary none the less. The writing really is on the wall, Pop just needs to stop ignoring it.

[couchman]

So sad.
He needs to retire and focus on enjoying his final years.

[rjv]

now's not the time to talk about Pop's future with the Spurs. I just hope this is not a serious setback to his recovery or a turn for the worse, health wise.

[Arguendo]

Very sad, hope he recovers and focuses on quality of life. The labeling of his stroke as "mild" is a little gross. Unless we're talking about a TIA, there are no "mild" strokes for 76 year-olds, there are just less catastrophic strokes, ones that deprive less brain tissue of oxygen for less time. Mild in comparison, not mild.

Thank you for everything, especially thank you for the beautiful game. Please accept some Emeritus title, and go enjoy your life, enjoy your family, enjoy your time left.
Please let others take on the stress of running the operations and coaching. It's time for a new era, you gave us an absolutely incredible run.

[Robz4000]

It's time, Pop.

[Leetonidas]

Shams reporting Pop is home now in stable condition

[spurs10]

Shams reporting Pop is home now in stable condition Good to hear.

[John B]

That was Tuesday night. Prayers for Pop and family.

Going on an ambulance like that is concerning because Pop would not have it otherwise if it was not necessary

[Mnky]

Not sure why people are upset that journalist and first responders were likely respecting Pops privacy with this one.

Spurs don't let things out and have plenty of connections not to mention what Pop means to the city. He absolutely does not want to hear or see these things in the news or we would have known.

Hope he recovers and has some type of continued role he enjoys going forward. He's earned it.

[baseline bum]

now's not the time to talk about Pop's future with the Spurs. I just hope this is not a serious setback to his recovery or a turn for the worse, health wise.

I disagree. It's not like this happened just now, it was three days ago. Spurs need to go out and hire one of these great candidates in Jenkins, Vogel, or Malone before someone else does. Can't afford to screw around and let Pop's ego cost this team its future. If he hasn't retired by Sunday he needs to be fired. He's clearly never coming back and Mitch isn't the guy who is going to lead them back to the playoffs and respectability. I love Pop but he has to know it's time to step down.

[Seventyniner]

Pop was probably doing worse than most of us thought even before this incident. He didn't even make a cameo for the last regular season game.

[mudyez]

Hope he will be alright and has some beautiful years ahead of him.

I would have loved to have him back as our coach, but in the end the only thing that matters is his health.

Love you Pop!

[LkrFan]

Get well soon Coach Pop!

[rjv]

I disagree. It's not like this happened just now, it was three days ago. Spurs need to go out and hire one of these great candidates in Jenkins, Vogel, or Malone before someone else does. Can't afford to screw around and let Pop's ego cost this team its future. If he hasn't retired by Sunday he needs to be fired. He's clearly never coming back and Mitch isn't the guy who is going to lead them back to the playoffs and respectability. I love Pop but he has to know it's time to step down.

i've since read that he's home and doing well. what the spurs are processing is beyond anyone's knowledge but i'm sure ST will speculate that they're doing nothing and have no plan. vogel-meh. jenkins-has familiarity with the spurs so maybe. malone-not sure the fit is there. van gundy will also be on some teams' radar whenever the clippers are eliminated.

[Chillen]

He may be able to still coach but for his own sake I think he should hang them up and enjoy the rest of his life without the stress of coaching another game. He has nothing to prove he is one of the best NBA head coaches ever. Retire Pop.

[Das Texan]

I disagree. It's not like this happened just now, it was three days ago. Spurs need to go out and hire one of these great candidates in Jenkins, Vogel, or Malone before someone else does. Can't afford to screw around and let Pop's ego cost this team its future. If he hasn't retired by Sunday he needs to be fired. He's clearly never coming back and Mitch isn't the guy who is going to lead them back to the playoffs and respectability. I love Pop but he has to know it's time to step down.

They just need to hire SOMEONE and not leave this albatross hanging over the summer.

Nothing is stopping Pop from being around as a consultant and helping during the summer or regular season at the practice facility teaching the game or what not really.

To do anything else is such a disservice to the players, fans and organization alike.

[BacktoBasics]

That was Tuesday night. Prayers for Pop and family.

Going on an ambulance like that is concerning because Pop would not have it otherwise if it was not necessary

Pretty standard for anyone over 55 that faints.

[TimmehC]

Bro should just travel and enjoy the best this world has to offer. Let others handle the stress of running the team.

[Bill_Brasky]

It was a good run, Pop. Love the guy and just want him to sail off happy.

[BatManu20]

It’s beyond time to move on. Hell of a 28-year run for Pop. First ballot HOF’er and his time here will be remembered fondly, but the man is about to turn 77 FFS… Enough is enough. Give him a cushy position in the Front Office if he wants, but it’s time for this organization to make the call and give a young, hungry, up-and-coming HC the reins. That’ll help us figure out our identity too and what we need to target in the draft and Free Agency moving forward. Enough being held hostage by the old man’s health. Thanks for everything Pop, but it’s time to turn the page.

[Ice009]

It's even worse, this wasnt last night it was on Tuesday so three days ago and we have to learn about it from TMZ?? Shameful

I just saw this thread and can't believe the local SA media hasn't reported anything and it's had to come from TMZ days later. What a joke. All these guys need to be fired if they won't report anything.

I was thinking he's going to be OK as long as he doesn't get back into coaching in the NBA, as like many others here have probably thought, I figured the stress and pressure of that job might be a bit too much, but now having heard this happening nowhere near an NBA court, I'm legit worried about him.

[lefty20]

Pop can honestly say he left it all on the floor and gave it everything he's got till the wheels fell off.

It's time for the GOAT Coach to call it, tbh.

[BatManu20]

Pop on the sidelines next year still coaching as a near-geriatric.

https://media.istockphoto.com/id/485469809/photo/aging-can-be-difficult.webp?s=612x612&w=is&k=20&c=hlVZrNalLJYalUX1pbiaxsZp1eS0fKk9Zwjyr4Jw9-0=

[Arguendo]

now's not the time to talk about Pop's future with the Spurs. I just hope this is not a serious setback to his recovery or a turn for the worse, health wise.

Obviously we aren't privy to details, but how long should the Spurs wait to think about the future?
The stroke was on 11/2/24, more than 6 months ago. He fainted on Tuesday, its been a few days.
The lottery is 24 days away, our President of Operations is THE decision maker and has been on leave for more than 6 months. The most pivotal time since Timmy's free agency starts lottery night. The off-season planning is well underway but its hard to believe our public facing architect of 30+ years could be fully focused on basketball right now. Many things go into players decisions, organizational structure and coach are two big factors. Today, both are glaring question marks.

If I'm the CEO of the multiple billion dollar SSE business, assuming a firm plan isn't already in place, I'm thinking now is absolutely the time to plan the Spurs future because the Spurs are their only revenue generating asset and its President is 76 and post-stroke, and just had another health issue, this time in public. Decisions made this offseason can reasonably be expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I'd factor in that left-sided strokes cause cautious behavior, impair organizational abilities, and typically cause memory issues. And that right side strokes cause impulsive behavior, impair decision making, and also cause memory issues.

I've worked in hospital Rehab floors (RN) filled with stroke patients, strokes are awful even "mild" ones. They are way harder for the elderly. I've had to have to conversation about taking the keys, it sucks. Very often, someone else needs to make the decision because of impaired decision making or lack of insight.

I think we all want the best for Pop, hard to see how the stress of running at NBA franchise at this moment in time would be the best thing for him. The minute to minute stress of coaching and constant travel? That's hard for a healthy, middle-aged man. Also hard to see how dragging this on to the lottery isn't a distraction for the front office, scouting, potential coaches, and potential FAs.

For the franchise, its been a few days since they got the new and we've got a few weeks to announce, but surely the off-season wheels are already in motion, and we need someone in Basketball operations to be THE decision maker. In 24 days the franchise needs that person to be focused on basketball, on call and ready to make the decision under intense pressure. On draft night, that could be a split second decision when someone calls. That person should also have the freedom to know they are the decision maker today, tomorrow, and moving forward, otherwise, how could they possibility have the full confidence to make the hard calls?

I love you Pop. When I think of the Spurs, I will always think of you...President and Coach Emeritus.

[scott]

I just saw this thread and can't believe the local SA media hasn't reported anything and it's had to come from TMZ days later. What a joke. All these guys need to be fired if they won't report anything.

I was thinking he's going to be OK as long as he doesn't get back into coaching in the NBA, as like many others here have probably thought, I figured the stress and pressure of that job might be a bit too much, but now having heard this happening nowhere near an NBA court, I'm legit worried about him.

Even worse, I've seen some of them basically berating fans for thinking that they should have reported anything earlier - saying that Pop and the Spurs deserve whatever level of privacy they want (which is true, but there are caveats).

The Spurs do not view fans as constituents. One reporter was flat out ridiculing a fan who questioned why the Spurs and local media haven't said anything several days after the fact with "you don't deserve shit, you fans have such an entitled attitude".

To the Spurs, the fans are just their piggy bank. They expect the fans to fork over their money on demand and not make their lives difficult. The Spurs don't believe the fans deserve anything more than the right to sit in seats and cheer. Don't expect any information. Don't expect wins. Don't boo Kawhi.

Pop is a public figure. A public figure's health is of note to an organization's constituency. For politicians, that is the public. For companies, it's the company's shareholders, customers and vendors/suppliers. For a sport team - who are their constituents? Shareholders, players, the staff, the league, AND THEIR FANS (the people who keep them in business).

Nico Harrison's tone def comments the other day are along this line of thinking. He told reporters that his duty is to the Mavericks, not to their fans. This completely ignores the fact that the Mavericks cannot exist without their fans. The Spurs seem to share Nico's twisted vision of what their constituency is.

[rjv]

Obviously we aren't privy to details, but how long should the Spurs wait to think about the future?
The stroke was on 11/2/24, more than 6 months ago. He fainted on Tuesday, its been a few days.
The lottery is 24 days away, our President of Operations is THE decision maker and has been on leave for more than 6 months. The most pivotal time since Timmy's free agency starts lottery night. The off-season planning is well underway but its hard to believe our public facing architect of 30+ years could be fully focused on basketball right now. Many things go into players decisions, organizational structure and coach are two big factors. Today, both are glaring question marks.

If I'm the CEO of the multiple billion dollar SSE business, assuming a firm plan isn't already in place, I'm thinking now is absolutely the time to plan the Spurs future because the Spurs are their only revenue generating asset and its President is 76 and post-stroke, and just had another health issue, this time in public. Decisions made this offseason can reasonably be expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I'd factor in that left-sided strokes cause cautious behavior, impair organizational abilities, and typically cause memory issues. And that right side strokes cause impulsive behavior, impair decision making, and also cause memory issues.

I've worked in hospital Rehab floors (RN) filled with stroke patients, strokes are awful even "mild" ones. They are way harder for the elderly. I've had to have to conversation about taking the keys, it sucks. Very often, someone else needs to make the decision because of impaired decision making or lack of insight.

I think we all want the best for Pop, hard to see how the stress of running at NBA franchise at this moment in time would be the best thing for him. The minute to minute stress of coaching and constant travel? That's hard for a healthy, middle-aged man. Also hard to see how dragging this on to the lottery isn't a distraction for the front office, scouting, potential coaches, and potential FAs.

For the franchise, its been a few days since they got the new and we've got a few weeks to announce, but surely the off-season wheels are already in motion, and we need someone in Basketball operations to be THE decision maker. In 24 days the franchise needs that person to be focused on basketball, on call and ready to make the decision under intense pressure. On draft night, that could be a split second decision when someone calls. That person should also have the freedom to know they are the decision maker today, tomorrow, and moving forward, otherwise, how could they possibility have the full confidence to make the hard calls?

I love you Pop. When I think of the Spurs, I will always think of you...President and Coach Emeritus.

the bolded part of your post is why i don't really speculate.

[Mal]

That must be it, dont risk it. Enjoy retirement Pop

[rjv]

Even worse, I've seen some of them basically berating fans for thinking that they should have reported anything earlier - saying that Pop and the Spurs deserve whatever level of privacy they want (which is true, but there are caveats).

The Spurs do not view fans as constituents. One reporter was flat out ridiculing a fan who questioned why the Spurs and local media haven't said anything several days after the fact with "you don't deserve shit, you fans have such an entitled attitude".

To the Spurs, the fans are just their piggy bank. They expect the fans to fork over their money on demand and not make their lives difficult. The Spurs don't believe the fans deserve anything more than the right to sit in seats and cheer. Don't expect any information. Don't expect wins. Don't boo Kawhi.

Pop is a public figure. A public figure's health is of note to an organization's constituency. For politicians, that is the public. For companies, it's the company's shareholders, customers and vendors. For a sport team - who are their constituents? Shareholders, the league, AND THEIR FANS (the people who keep them in business).

Nico Harrison's tone def comments the other day are along this line of thinking. He told reporters that his duty is to the Mavericks, not to their fans. This completely ignores the fact that the Mavericks cannot exist without their fans. The Spurs seem to share Nico's twisted vision of what their constituency is.

not quite the same equivalency here. while the incident should have been reported, locally, i think that there is a difference between a lack of transparency about transactions than medical issues. that being said, i don't understand the logic. fans know that something happened and they will speculate wildly in the absence of information. so i don't get why the franchise keeps hush on wemby's surgery or pop's health (in general, not to the extent that there would be any HIPAA violations).

[Arguendo]

the bolded part of your post is why i don't really speculate.
For the record, I did not speculate on anything. I laid out facts and personal experience actually working rehabilitation with stroke patients.

But mea culpa. Fans on a message board shouldn't have opinions. Fans should really just STFU.

Age is just a number, President of Operations is just a title, strokes aren't serious. Decisions don't need to be made, certainty doesn't matter, everything will just play out. :toast

[scott]

not quite the same equivalency here. while the incident should have been reported, locally, i think that there is a difference between a lack of transparency about transactions than medical issues. that being said, i don't understand the logic. fans know that something happened and they will speculate wildly in the absence of information. so i don't get why the franchise keeps hush on wemby's surgery or pop's health (in general, not to the extent that there would be any HIPAA violations).

While they are certainly different (and need to be handled differently), at the end of the day I view them both as critical information to a constituency's continued outlook towards the organization. With that said, there is certainly only a certain level of detail the constituency needs. And every situation is different. For the Mavs, trading Luka calls for more explanation and a clear vision communicated than just trading away Jaden Hardy or some shit.

With Wemby's injury, I think generally speaking they've done a proper level of communication. "We think this is a one time issue and have no concerns long term" - this is good communication. Being hush on the surgery is kind of weird, but not really a big deal IMO (though it's indicative of this broader approach they take with info).

This latest Pop thing though, to me is a bit of a slap in the face. It's a fair assumption (IMO) to say that if the Spurs could have just hid this forever, they would have. That's extremely disrespectful to the team's constituency. And certainly the Spurs have to know that in this age of cell phones, this event (that happened in public) would eventually come out. I hate that we had to learn about this from fucking TMZ. The Spurs could have issued a statement at any time in the last few days that simply said "Pop suffered a minor set back at a restaurant the other night, but is at home and feeling good" and that alone would have been significantly more respectful of it's constituency than this.

This also makes me wonder... did players even know about this? Can you imagine if you're about to sign an extension, or you're a free agent, and you learn about critical information like this from freakin' TMZ? I hope it's only the fans that SSE seems to not regard as important stakeholders, because while that is disrespectful of those who keep them in business, it's less troubling than if they approach everyone the same way.

[Mnky]

Even worse, I've seen some of them basically berating fans for thinking that they should have reported anything earlier - saying that Pop and the Spurs deserve whatever level of privacy they want (which is true, but there are caveats).

The Spurs do not view fans as constituents. One reporter was flat out ridiculing a fan who questioned why the Spurs and local media haven't said anything several days after the fact with "you don't deserve shit, you fans have such an entitled attitude".

To the Spurs, the fans are just their piggy bank. They expect the fans to fork over their money on demand and not make their lives difficult. The Spurs don't believe the fans deserve anything more than the right to sit in seats and cheer. Don't expect any information. Don't expect wins. Don't boo Kawhi.

Pop is a public figure. A public figure's health is of note to an organization's constituency. For politicians, that is the public. For companies, it's the company's shareholders, customers and vendors/suppliers. For a sport team - who are their constituents? Shareholders, players, the staff, the league, AND THEIR FANS (the people who keep them in business).

Nico Harrison's tone def comments the other day are along this line of thinking. He told reporters that his duty is to the Mavericks, not to their fans. This completely ignores the fact that the Mavericks cannot exist without their fans. The Spurs seem to share Nico's twisted vision of what their constituency is.

You're literally demonstrating the reporters proof of entitlement. Imagine thinking you're deserving of news that affects you in no way in spite of Pops health and peace.

Cant believe some of you are grown men on this forum. Get a life, my goodness.

[exstatic]

HIPA

[Chillen]

Pop on the sidelines next year still coaching as a near-geriatric.

https://media.istockphoto.com/id/485469809/photo/aging-can-be-difficult.webp?s=612x612&w=is&k=20&c=hlVZrNalLJYalUX1pbiaxsZp1eS0fKk9Zwjyr4Jw9-0=

That model actually kind of looks like Pop in a way.

[ginobilized]

Sad to know of this news. Kinda sucks that TMZ broke the story. Someone in SA probably made some money of selling this story.

Pop, we love ya! Thanks for everything. You are still in charge of basketball operations. Now, help us hire a coach when you are feeling better.

[ginobilized]

Sad to know of this news. Kinda sucks that TMZ broke the story. Someone in SA probably made some money of selling this story.

Pop, we love ya! Thanks for everything. You are still in charge of basketball operations. Now, help us hire a coach when you are feeling better.

[rjv]

While they are certainly different (and need to be handled differently), at the end of the day I view them both as critical information to a constituency's continued outlook towards the organization. With that said, there is certainly only a certain level of detail the constituency needs. And every situation is different. For the Mavs, trading Luka calls for more explanation and a clear vision communicated than just trading away Jaden Hardy or some shit.

With Wemby's injury, I think generally speaking they've done a proper level of communication. "We think this is a one time issue and have no concerns long term" - this is good communication. Being hush on the surgery is kind of weird, but not really a big deal IMO (though it's indicative of this broader approach they take with info).

This latest Pop thing though, to me is a bit of a slap in the face. It's a fair assumption (IMO) to say that if the Spurs could have just hid this forever, they would have. That's extremely disrespectful to the team's constituency. And certainly the Spurs have to know that in this age of cell phones, this event (that happened in public) would eventually come out. I hate that we had to learn about this from fucking TMZ. The Spurs could have issued a statement at any time in the last few days that simply said "Pop suffered a minor set back at a restaurant the other night, but is at home and feeling good" and that alone would have been significantly more respectful of it's constituency than this.

This also makes me wonder... did players even know about this? Can you imagine if you're about to sign an extension, or you're a free agent, and you learn about critical information like this from freakin' TMZ? I hope it's only the fans that SSE seems to not regard as important stakeholders, because while that is disrespectful of those who keep them in business, it's less troubling than if they approach everyone the same way.

I agree with most of this but I think it's a stretch to infer that the Spurs FO would handle players as they would the press or the fans. That would make zero business sense. And from what we have seen play out this season, the players have been just as reluctant to share info with the press as the FO has been.

[scott]

You're literally demonstrating the reporters proof of entitlement. Imagine thinking you're deserving of news that affects you in no way in spite of Pops health and peace.

Cant believe some of you are grown men on this forum. Get a life, my goodness.

Sorry that some concepts are too difficult for your brain.

Fans are what holds the team up. With out them, there is quite literally zero revenue and the organization ceases to exist. News about the team impacts fan's perceptions of the team and ultimately their spending. Pop's health doesn't affect fans directly, but it very much does affect them.

The same way if the CEO of an industrial supplier of sheet metal were to have some kind of event (medical or otherwise)... the company's biggest customer would want to know how it impact's the supplier's ability to continue to service them.

This isn't very difficult to grasp, except maybe to you.

[spurraider21]

HIPA
hipaa precludes health care providers from disclosing such info. not binding on the media or entities not directly related to the healthcare process

[scott]

I agree with most of this but I think it's a stretch to infer that the Spurs FO would handle players as they would the press or the fans. That would make zero business sense. And from what we have seen play out this season, the players have been just as reluctant to share info with the press as the FO has been.

Like I said, I hope this is only their approach with the fans... but it does make me wonder. I have friends who used to cover the Spurs, and they all report the same story that they are very difficult to work with and way different from any other team they've ever covered. It's kind of weird, I wonder what the philosophy behind this is.

[Cry Havoc]

Pop is an incredible coach and a candidate for the GOAT, regardless of what the miscreants here say.

That said... it just doesn't appear to be worth risking. Imagine if he has something like this happen during a game? Yeesh. I hope the Spurs keep him on in an advisory role so he can stay plugged into the team, but if he comes back to the sideline I'm just gonna worry about him, I would imagine the players would as well, and it would be a distraction.

Thanks for all your years, Pop. You set some records that will never be touched by anyone, I would imagine.

[exstatic]

hipaa precludes health care providers from disclosing such info. not binding on the media or entities not directly related to the healthcare process

So,they report that something happened. Do you think people are going to just leave it at that?

We live in a juvenile social media driven society, and people just can’t leave something like this alone. He’s a fucking human being, for fucks sake, and he deserves any level of privacy that SSE can give him for as long as it lasts.

[Dex]

Pop is an incredible coach and a candidate for the GOAT, regardless of what the miscreants here say.

That said... it just doesn't appear to be worth risking. Imagine if he has something like this happen during a game? Yeesh. I hope the Spurs keep him on in an advisory role so he can stay plugged into the team, but if he comes back to the sideline I'm just gonna worry about him, I would imagine the players would as well, and it would be a distraction.

Thanks for all your years, Pop. You set some records that will never be touched by anyone, I would imagine.

Well put.

I have nothing but respect for Pop, and have been labeled as a "Pop-sucker" on multiple occasions. How quickly people forget he helped this team earn 5 championships and is the winningest coach in NBA history when we were previously known as a bunch of pretenders prior to him taking over.

That said, time catches up to everyone. As someone who has lost both parents, and is currently supporting my wife going through the same (one with dementia, the other with heart failure)...once your body and mind start breaking down, it's unlikely they are going to just bounce back and you will be your old self again.

Pop has had a legendary run by all means, but he needs to focus on himself and his health. No one could have predicted that he would have a stroke and it's not his fault, but it's also fair to say it changed the trajectory of this season. With a young Wemby and this young core, it would be irresponsible to risk another incident like that risking future seasons.

It's time for the Spurs to move on.

[Gandalf]

now's not the time to talk about Pop's future with the Spurs.

First, prayers for Pop. His life and eternity are most important, and it’s not close.

However, it is absolutely time—long, long, long past time—to talk about his future with the Spurs. The Spurs need to quietly secure Jenkins, etc., if they haven’t already, while they still can.

Additionally, any persons in the organization who seriously thought Pop could come back next year and planned to gamble his life, Wemby’s third year, and a billion-dollar franchise on 76-year-old-stroke-victim Pop handling an 82-game NBA season: reality just told you you’re grossly reckless and incompetent morons who should immediately be fired or resign in disgrace.

The fact that the Spurs haven’t handled this long ago and may have even tried to avoid having this come out is alarming.

[Chomag]

I hope Pop will be OK but it's long past the time to make that difficult decision. Be it Pop himself or owners and FO they need to call the ball and move on into the next Era of the Spurs.

It's completely reckless for everyone involved to push for his return at this point. The uncertainties are also hurting this team's future and nobody wants to see Pop have an episode on the floor during a game.

[Chomag]

And yes, our local media is a complete joke. I imagine nobody ever gets fired there so there is no accountability for poor performance

[baseline bum]

i've since read that he's home and doing well. what the spurs are processing is beyond anyone's knowledge but i'm sure ST will speculate that they're doing nothing and have no plan. vogel-meh. jenkins-has familiarity with the spurs so maybe. malone-not sure the fit is there. van gundy will also be on some teams' radar whenever the clippers are eliminated.

Any of them other than Van Gundy would be a massive improvement over Mitch.

[RC_Drunkford]

Can‘t wait for the Spurs statement that Pop is recovering and trying to coach next season, cause he deserves to do whatever he wants. He should just hang it up. Btw Shams is saying he‘s alright

[Dex]

And yes, our local media is a complete joke. I imagine nobody ever gets fired there so there is no accountability for poor performance

Do we even have local media?

No one even cares about the SAExpress anymore. Jeff McDonald is a joke and always has been.

Our long-time play-by-play guy (Bill Land) and radio guy (Bill Schoening) both just retired, and I wouldn't blame Sean for being right behind them.

Finger left a long time ago, Beadle got run out of town. ESPN sure as hell isn't calling in any "local beat writers" from San Antonio to report anything.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Holt, Dell, someone step in and end this organizational malpractice please.

Unless the goal is to have him die on the sideline so they can say he went out doing what he loved.

[heyheymymy]

Wish Pop the best. This is probably a good thing either way. As a minor setback it happens with plenty of time to at least attempt to continue recovery. If not, as I am assuming, then may it remove all uncertainty at a time when a few legit replacement candidates are available for hire. Truly hope for the best possible outcome for Pop and the future of the basketball team. Also possibly somewhat open to different options where it's not only stay or go. Come on as a coaching consultant in the org, only head coach home games, be a luminary in the scene that observes from the stands occasionally like TP or Manu. Pop deserves a little time and respect to figure it out after all he's done but not at the expense of the #1 priority, preparedness for games with the intention of winning championships for San Antonio.

[heyheymymy]

But I should also say, I'm just gutted. Absolutely shelled. It's like losing a father and the entire city of San Antonio and the very concept of basketball owes a great deal of gratitude and respect to Coach Pop. 100% serious.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Wish Pop the best. This is probably a good thing either way. As a minor setback it happens with plenty of time to at least attempt to continue recovery. If not, as I am assuming, then may it remove all uncertainty at a time when a few legit replacement candidates are available for hire. Truly hope for the best possible outcome for Pop and the future of the basketball team. Also possibly somewhat open to different options where it's not only stay or go. Come on as a coaching consultant in the org, only head coach home games, be a luminary in the scene that observes from the stands occasionally like TP or Manu. Pop deserves a little time and respect to figure it out after all he's done but not at the expense of the #1 priority, preparedness for games with the intention of winning championships for San Antonio.

He's had plenty of time to figure it out.

A 75 year old stroke survivor can't stand up to the rigors of coaching pro sports. Make it end.

[baseline bum]

Can‘t wait for the Spurs statement that Pop is recovering and trying to coach next season, cause he deserves to do whatever he wants.

Just heard it on the 5:00 news :lol

[heyheymymy]

Yeah honestly I can't realistically see how this ever goes back to normal either. It's a lot of travel, lack of sleep, high stress environment. I love Pop and would welcome him back, but only if there were assurances it would be a sustainable situation and I'm afraid the ship has sailed. Maybe modern medicine and lifestyle changes? It seems so much less likely at that age though.I do however trust Spurs management to get a fix worked out. Look at the Fox trade as maybe a small sign that the FO can still operate nimbly without the direct supervision of Pop. Sure they ran it by him but they managed that slick deal without Pop in the drivers seat so maybe that's optimism that draft strategy won't be too hampered by such a key role absence or maybe they will make a change before then.

[Das Texan]

Even worse, I've seen some of them basically berating fans for thinking that they should have reported anything earlier - saying that Pop and the Spurs deserve whatever level of privacy they want (which is true, but there are caveats).

The Spurs do not view fans as constituents. One reporter was flat out ridiculing a fan who questioned why the Spurs and local media haven't said anything several days after the fact with "you don't deserve shit, you fans have such an entitled attitude".

To the Spurs, the fans are just their piggy bank. They expect the fans to fork over their money on demand and not make their lives difficult. The Spurs don't believe the fans deserve anything more than the right to sit in seats and cheer. Don't expect any information. Don't expect wins. Don't boo Kawhi.

Pop is a public figure. A public figure's health is of note to an organization's constituency. For politicians, that is the public. For companies, it's the company's shareholders, customers and vendors/suppliers. For a sport team - who are their constituents? Shareholders, players, the staff, the league, AND THEIR FANS (the people who keep them in business).

Nico Harrison's tone def comments the other day are along this line of thinking. He told reporters that his duty is to the Mavericks, not to their fans. This completely ignores the fact that the Mavericks cannot exist without their fans. The Spurs seem to share Nico's twisted vision of what their constituency is.

This is pretty much 100% why I dropped my season ticket plan a number of years ago. Sure the team sucking helped, but holy hell they do not give a fuck about fans and seem to care even less about season ticket holders 'family'. The Saddles and Spurs club 5 years ago was a fucking joke of a disaster. Maybe its gotten better but probably not.

The lack of actual basketball reporting in this town is fucking stupid. Not that the Express News is any good, but there is no actual real reporting done for this team which is honestly quite fucking sad.

[LeBowen]

Tuesday night?
Damn, local media is full on North Korea if it's TMZ breaking the news days later.

Pop is done with coaching, we just need a confirmation.
Sucks, but he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone.
At his age, he's lucky to be alive.

We need RC to officially announce Pop is done so Wright can start interviewing new candidates for the position.

[timtonymanu]

That’s more of a sign to Pop to retire. Like none of us want to see him collapse during a game.

Give him a front office role and move on. Thanks for everything, legend!

[spurraider21]

shams said hes home and stable

word is that when he was being carried off, instead of the traditional thumbs up, he gave the 4-down signal

[Ice009]

Do we even have local media?

No one even cares about the SAExpress anymore. Jeff McDonald is a joke and always has been.

Our long-time play-by-play guy (Bill Land) and radio guy (Bill Schoening) both just retired, and I wouldn't blame Sean for being right behind them.

Finger left a long time ago, Beadle got run out of town. ESPN sure as hell isn't calling in any "local beat writers" from San Antonio to report anything.

I forgot about Mike Finger. Did Michelle Beadle get run out of town? What's the story there? I thought she left to do other things.

Also, does anyone read the SAExpress news anymore? I actually used to read the sports articles, but can't access them anymore as I'm outside of the US. I wonder if their numbers dropped massively when they put that paywall system in (not sure if you have to pay to read the articles).

[The Truth #6]

hipaa precludes health care providers from disclosing such info. not binding on the media or entities not directly related to the healthcare process

Exactly. What was reported was what people witnessed in a public setting it sounds like.

As far as Pop deserving privacy, yeah. Of course. But...all this privacy is in conflict with being a public figure. Even more, it precludes fans from being able to actually show support. There's no thought of a dialogue, even via an online message.

[tonight...you]

But I should also say, I'm just gutted. Absolutely shelled. It's like losing a father and the entire city of San Antonio and the very concept of basketball owes a great deal of gratitude and respect to Coach Pop. 100% serious.
The same. Such a huge and long part of so many of our lives that experienced more highs than almost any other fan of the NBA in his time.
I don't know what's going to happen but, at this point I wish him the best of the rest of his life and hope it lasts much longer.

[Gandalf]

Holt, Dell, someone step in and end this organizational malpractice please.

Unless the goal is to have him die on the sideline so they can say he went out doing what he loved.

Honestly, I’d have to look into it, but do members of the Spurs organization have a duty of care toward their 76-year-old-stroke-victim employee who might have some cognitive or senility issues?

If they do, the Spurs need to consider the very real possibility that they could have serious civil and even criminal responsibility for letting him coach an 82-game season. God forbid, but the possible (maybe even likely at this point) result is entirely foreseeable, and the Spurs organization’s failure to intervene would be a gross deviation from the reasonable person standard of care (i.e. potentially manslaughter).

Regardless, the Spurs will be morally culpable if and when the predictable happens.

[Dex]

Did Michelle Beadle get run out of town? What's the story there? I thought she left to do other things.


Probably an exaggeration on my part...but she definitely got forced out from both NBC and ESPN (the latter being because she made comments that got Stephen A Smith suspended, but he still has his job) and she got bought out.

She was doing Spurs coverage for a while and still makes a random appearance here and there, but then just seems to disappear even though she is a huge Spurs fan.

[ace3g]

Beadle is currently on NBA TV- Run It Back’

[ace3g]

Beadle is currently on NBA TV- Run It Back’

[spursparker9]

That definitely closed the door for Pop

Lets find a new HC

[Ice009]

Probably an exaggeration on my part...but she definitely got forced out from both NBC and ESPN (the latter being because she made comments that got Stephen A Smith suspended, but he still has his job) and she got bought out.

She was doing Spurs coverage for a while and still makes a random appearance here and there, but then just seems to disappear even though she is a huge Spurs fan.

Thanks, Dex. Didn't know she got Stephen A Smith suspended. What was that over?

I know she's now on 'Run It Back' with Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons as I've seen some videos on Youtube the past few months. How long has she been doing that show for?

[ducks]

Only if he was in as good shape as Trump ……

[mystargtr34]

Only if he was in as good shape as Trump ……

:lol low blow ducks.

[ducks]

The spurs front office needs to get some balls and tell Pop he is not going to coach because he is not healthy enough they are moving on.
He was great for a long time but he is not great because he got tds and it has affected his ability to stay healthy and coach!
Spurs front office do the right think so on live tv he does not have a stroke !

[slick'81]

Thank god hes retired

[cutewizard]

Please retire Pop......we aim for playoffs next year and then the championship year after that

its a long way to go

Get well soon but please retire Coach Pop

[cutewizard]

there are many good male candidates

but Coach Becky as head coach would be tantalizing,

a first in NBA history

[timtonymanu]

The spurs front office needs to get some balls and tell Pop he is not going to coach because he is not healthy enough they are moving on.
He was great for a long time but he is not great because he got tds and it has affected his ability to stay healthy and coach!
Spurs front office do the right think so on live tv he does not have a stroke !

You’ve been a faggot for a long time.

[Extra Stout]

The decision is Junior’s to make, but he’s an empty sweatsuit.

[exstatic]

The decision is Junior’s to make, but he’s an empty sweatsuit.

The decision is Pop’s to make.

[Das Texan]

The decision is Pop’s to make.

Well like most older men of his generation in power positions, they never want to give them up and allow the younger generations the ability to guide the ship.

[bigfan]

Sad to hear and its time ownership "does the needful". Then sign Coach Bud before somebody else gets him.

[ducks]

The decision is Pop’s to make.

Nope bosses can force people to retire or get fired
See how many nba coaches got fired this year
Some won titles with the team also or with their previous team

[The Truth #6]

Hard to say if this latest incident actually changes anything re: Pop's plan to return and ownership's deference to Pop to decide. Obviously it should! But not sure. Probably only his daughter could get through to him to sway him.

[MarCowMar]

there are many good male candidates

but Coach Becky as head coach would be tantalizing,

a first in NBA history

DEI faggotry aside, the last time the Spurs played basketball for the pure sake of winning was when Becky was coaching the summer league team.

I would really like to see that hunger again from someone in the organization, and bet that Fox and Castle would respond positively to it (they haven't been ruined yet).

She also played for Russia so she knows how to pick winners on the long arc of history. Definitely a covert anti-globalist.

[tim_duncan_fan]

there are many good male candidates

but Coach Becky as head coach would be tantalizing,

a first in NBA history

I would like them to make history.

[Bill_Brasky]

The decision is Pop’s to make.

The stroke made that decision for him. When "you might keel over and die in front of an arena packed with people" becomes a real possibility with like a greater than 30% chance of happening, no, it isn't "his decision" anymore. What the Spurs organization is currently doing with this situation should be considered malpractice.

[Seventyniner]

The stroke made that decision for him. When "you might keel over and die in front of an arena packed with people" becomes a real possibility with like a greater than 30% chance of happening, no, it isn't "his decision" anymore. What the Spurs organization is currently doing with this situation should be considered malpractice.

I agree that Pop shouldn't coach anymore. Is the "malpractice" you refer to merely remaining silent on the issue?

[exstatic]

Well like most older men of his generation in power positions, they never want to give them up and allow the younger generations the ability to guide the ship.

Forcing Pop out will fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and all of the former players. No more hanging out at the practice facility, informal mentoring, etc.

[djohn2oo8]

Forcing Pop out will fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and all of the former players. No more hanging out at the practice facility, informal mentoring, etc.
Pop might name his successor or pick who he wants that is available.

[exstatic]

Pop might name his successor or pick who he wants that is available.

And that’s fine, as long as he makes the decisions. My post was a comment to a poster saying Holt Jr. wouldn’t have the balls to cut him loose.

[scott]

Forcing Pop out will fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and all of the former players. No more hanging out at the practice facility, informal mentoring, etc.

tbh, not forcing Pop out and allowing him to return to the sidelines might fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and former players. They may be looking at the situation the same as many onlookers in that it would be irresponsible to to allow him to continue. I don't think our roster of HOFers want to see Pop die on the sidelines anymore than any of us do.

[Gandalf]

Forcing Pop out will fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and all of the former players. No more hanging out at the practice facility, informal mentoring, etc.

I seriously doubt that. I had to help take the keys from my grandpa, and my siblings don’t hate me for it; they appreciated it, particularly since they knew it had to be done, and they didn’t have to do it.

Plus, even if the ‘risk’ you’re afraid of is true, 1) the risks of sending him out there next year (for Pop and the franchise) are MUCH, MUCH WORSE, and 2) IF the former players don’t understand that, I’m sorry—but they’d be complete idiots. I don’t think they are.

[exstatic]

tbh, not forcing Pop out and allowing him to return to the sidelines might fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and former players. They may be looking at the situation the same as many onlookers in that it would be irresponsible to to allow him to continue. I don't think our roster of HOFers want to see Pop die on the sidelines anymore than any of us do.

I think the players are probably working behind the scenes to cajole him into leaving.

[ducks]

Forcing Pop out will fracture, maybe even sever relationships between the organization and all of the former players. No more hanging out at the practice facility, informal mentoring, etc.

Nope pop made sure they were over themselves

[dbestpro]

Woody Hayes, Tom Landry, Bob Knight, many famous coaches have been forced out.

[Chomag]

I mean, wouldn't this open up the FO to all kind of liability lissues at this point? Not saying they would do it and God forbid if Pop came back and had an episode during a game but wouldn't that open up the SPURS org. to the possibility of Pop's family being able to sue them?

[Mugen]

Please retire.

[scott]

I think the players are probably working behind the scenes to cajole him into leaving.

So your theory is that the players recognize that Pop needs to retire (for his own good), but they'll be so upset with the franchise that they severe any ties if the team does what they can't? Gotcha.

[exstatic]

So your theory is that the players recognize that Pop needs to retire (for his own good), but they'll be so upset with the franchise that they severe any ties if the team does what they can't? Gotcha.

If you can’t see a difference between talking to him to try to make him see, and the FO dropping the fucking hammer on him, can’t help you.

[scott]

If you can’t see a difference between talking to him to try to make him see, and the FO dropping the fucking hammer on him, can’t help you.

"Yeah, we knew grandpa shouldn't drive anymore and we tried to take away his keys before he plowed through that group of pedestrians, but god damn if the gumment takes away his license. That's where I draw the line!"

[objective]

Silver might step in behind the scenes.

With all the national TV games, Silver won't want to first have a broadcast where Pop is blank eyed, silent with his mouth quivering during the coach in game interview causing a national controversy of letting Pop coach, only for him to drop dead on the bench 3 weeks later on national TV.

That's going to be a second huge media disaster. Should they have kept playing? Was it right to delay and cancel the rest of the game to resume later, or to have as forfeiture?

[scott]

Silver might step in behind the scenes.

With all the national TV games, Silver won't want to first have a broadcast where Pop is blank eyed, silent with his mouth quivering during the coach in game interview causing a national controversy of letting Pop coach, only for him to drop dead on the bench 3 weeks later on national TV.

That's going to be a second huge media disaster. Should they have kept playing? Was it right to delay and cancel the rest of the game to resume later, or to have as forfeiture?

Silver needs to be careful, if he doesn't something then all of the former players might sever ties with the league

[cutewizard]

Just
retire
Now
pls

[ChumpDumper]

Man, looking over the hire dates of NBA coaches -- you guys may want to take it easy.

[mystargtr34]

Silver might step in behind the scenes.

With all the national TV games, Silver won't want to first have a broadcast where Pop is blank eyed, silent with his mouth quivering during the coach in game interview causing a national controversy of letting Pop coach, only for him to drop dead on the bench 3 weeks later on national TV.

That's going to be a second huge media disaster. Should they have kept playing? Was it right to delay and cancel the rest of the game to resume later, or to have as forfeiture?

Knowing how Adam Silver operates he probably wouldn’t mind the ratings boost.

[The Truth #6]

Life is bigger than basketball. He said that for so long. It sounds like this was something he was really trying to tell himself more than anything.

Or, so much of his life beyond basketball, like touring different restaurants around the world, became entangled with his job that he now can't walk away. I get it, it's hard to change as we get older. But it's a crazy point he is at now with all the responsibilities he has that affects the whole franchise. He's done so much to insulate himself from the fans and the media that I don't know how that will even affect him now.

Anyway. Just rambling.

[poopbox]

I mean, wouldn't this open up the FO to all kind of liability lissues at this point? Not saying they would do it and God forbid if Pop came back and had an episode during a game but wouldn't that open up the SPURS org. to the possibility of Pop's family being able to sue them?

I would think Pop would need to be medically cleared at this point to be a coach, and I am not sure what medical professional is going to stake his reputation on that.

[RC_Drunkford]

I always said Pop is hypocrite. Telling people they gotta be over themselves while being selfish with a gigantic ego himself

[Jordan Jackson]

At the rate things are going Pop’s going to be coaching this team using a ouija board.

I think the coaching decision has already been made long ago. They just haven’t told ya’ll yet.

[slick'81]

Its ova, the old man will walk away

[Dex]

A lot of people posting in here are acting like the Spurs announced "Pop will be coaching again next season"!

How about y'all calm down for a while instead of making wild assumptions? We aren't even in the offseason yet.

[ChumpDumper]

A lot of people posting in here are acting like the Spurs announced "Pop will be coaching again next season"!

How about y'all calm down for a while instead of making wild assumptions? We aren't even in the offseason yet.

Yeah, coaching announcements can happen from right now to after summer league so no matter what you think you're entitled to know, it could be quite a wait.

[DAF86]

Just relocate Pop to the stands with a made up position that sounds cool. It is malpractice to let him keep coaching.

[SpursGenius]

I disagree. It's not like this happened just now, it was three days ago. Spurs need to go out and hire one of these great candidates in Jenkins, Vogel, or Malone before someone else does. Can't afford to screw around and let Pop's ego cost this team its future. If he hasn't retired by Sunday he needs to be fired. He's clearly never coming back and Mitch isn't the guy who is going to lead them back to the playoffs and respectability. I love Pop but he has to know it's time to step down.
Yes he needs to retire instead of holding Team hostage. Go hire Malone. He can teach Wemby how to play how Jokic plays ie not 50 threes a game.

[vy65]

Yeah, coaching announcements can happen from right now to after summer league so no matter what you think you're entitled to know, it could be quite a wait.

“Entitled to know” lol

Scott

[scott]

“Entitled to know” lol

Scott

How dare customers have this sense of entitlement, wanting to know about the products they financially sustain!

[baseline bum]

It's time to fire Pop. He's not walking away so it's time for him to be walked away.

[ChumpDumper]

How dare customers have this sense of entitlement, wanting to know about the products they financially sustain!

The product's unveiling is somewhere within a four month window.

Enjoy.

[T Park]

Man, looking over the hire dates of NBA coaches -- you guys may want to take it easy.

IMO, they need to have someone in place, b y at least 1-2 weeks before the draft.

Just my opinion.

[ChumpDumper]

IMO, they need to have someone in place, b y at least 1-2 weeks before the draft.

Just my opinion.

Oh I think the sooner the better given the good names available. I'm just saying the expectation to be informed about a choice yesterday might be a little unrealistic.

[Brazil]

wtf I just logged in today after a long week end and that...

Thank you spurstalk tbh... unbelievable that the news has not been reported on traditional sport media. Hopefully Pop will recover quickly of this second alert.

As for the future, I'm sure Spurs will manage it respectfully. Pop is a legend and should be treated as one.

[Splits]

any sports organization faced with this situation have plan A (Pop comes back) and start with plan B (Pop doesn't come back) as soon as the stroke happened, he could die the next day. To think they haven't started with plan B and are "waiting for Pop's decision" is asinine. Knowing the Spurs this is being executed by a small group in a total media blackout, at a minimum the all candidates have had virtual interviews but most likely the decision has been made, and the announcement will happen on a Friday night at the last moment possible when nobody is paying attention that Pop is being replaced by new head coach X. What is not asinine is to think coach X will be the wrong decision.

[scott]

any sports organization faced with this situation have plan A (Pop comes back) and start with plan B (Pop doesn't come back) as soon as the stroke happened, he could die the next day. To think they haven't started with plan B and are "waiting for Pop's decision" is asinine. Knowing the Spurs this is being executed by a small group in a total media blackout, at a minimum the all candidates have had virtual interviews but most likely the decision has been made, and the announcement will happen on a Friday night at the last moment possible when nobody is paying attention that Pop is being replaced by new head coach X. What is not asinine is to think coach X will be the wrong decision.

I think this is the reason the Spurs haven't had a customary end of season press conference. They don't want to be pressed on answering questions about this situation before they are ready, they'll likely working pretty diligently on hammering out the path forward behind the scenes.

Whether or not the make the right move is yet to be seen, as you allude to! :lol

[Obstructed_View]

Turns out the Mavericks are the second stupidest NBA franchise in Texas.

[exstatic]

Turns out the Mavericks are the second stupidest NBA franchise in Texas.

That’s not even remotely true. Sending Pop out to lead the Hype Squad cheerleaders would be less stupid than trading Luka.

[ChumpDumper]

I think this is the reason the Spurs haven't had a customary end of season press conference.Did they do one last season? All I've been able to find so far are Brian Wright pressers during the draft.

[scott]

Did they do one last season? They don't want to be pressed on answering questions about this situation before they are ready, they'll likely working pretty diligently on hammering out the path forward behind the scenes.


All I've been able to find so far are Brian Wright pressers during the draft.

They've been kind of sporadic, so I honestly don't know what is "customary" for the Spurs. For example, Wright did some (or maybe just one?) at the trade deadline in the past but didn't do one after we acquired Fox that I can recall (I remember the one where him getting a call from an agent that showed up on his Apple Watch caused some speculation).

I kind of get a general vibe that they just want to control the media narrative via their media contacts these days as opposed to an open press conference where they can't predict what questions they'll get. Maybe it's something Wright just hates doing and appreciated that Pop would largely do this for him since the Head Coach has regular media availability and Pop was also the POBO? Or maybe now that there are more faces in the media room that they don't have as close relationships with gives them pause? Who knows.

I think their general approach to the media and sharing of info has been kind of weird as of late (even by their standards), but it's not a huge deal at the end of the day.

[Obstructed_View]

That’s not even remotely true. Sending Pop out to lead the Hype Squad cheerleaders would be less stupid than trading Luka.
Agree to disagree. Nothing is more stupid than holding up yet another year of a generational talent while you pass up good coaching candidates for a septuagenarian with serious health issues.

[ChumpDumper]

it's impossible to say any candidate has been passed up until that candidate is hired by some other team. Since there are like four-ish good candidates, I guess I'll start panicking when 2 are off the board.

[scott]

There could also be some additional, unexpected, candidates still to come. I'm sure no one would have predicted Jenkins or Malone to be available... who knows who else will become available as the playoffs play out.

I'm hoping the Spurs have taken the route that would be the most logical approach just looking at the circumstances: they've made the decision to move on, Pop is aware of this decision (may have even been part of it), they are having back channel communications with the candidates they like (perhaps even "secret" interviews) but they're not going to say anything until they can announce a complete and comprehensive plan. My speculation would be that they don't want the circus of announcing Pop not returning and a HC search and have to deal with media questions, speculation, etc. They want to do this all behind close doors and just unveil the outcome. This is consistent with how they have generally approached most things as of late: out of the public eye.

[ChumpDumper]

As long as there are names on the board, waiting and speculating is all anyone can do. I agree it would be out of character and also fairly stupid for the Spurs to broadcast their plans and actions when all that could really be happening at this point are interviews with one or more candidates, if it's even gotten that far. It would be very surprising for the Spurs to have narrowed everything down to one person given all the options. Conversely, I'm not completely convinced they could lock up every potential coach they have in mind while a Denver job just sits in limbo as well, for example.

[scott]

This is a bit of a tangent, but relevant to the Spurs approach with the media...

They are in a bit of an interesting position right now, trying to get public funding for a new arena (a proposition which appears to be losing public support). Strategically, I don't think being secretive or aloof with the plans for the team (in general, not just related to Pop) is necessarily the best way to go about things. This is a pretty pivotal summer for the Spurs with potentially a new coach, (hopefully) the last Top 10 picks for the foreseeable future, potentially their first ever modern max contract extension, and a looming public vote for a new arena. It's interesting to see their public facing approach given all of that happening... landing Cooper Flagg would be a huge boost for them if we get so lucky.

[RC_Drunkford]

I‘m totally expecting to see Pop being pushed around by Mitch on the sidelines in a wheelchair next season

[ChumpDumper]

If they don't get public funding for an arena, they'll just leave for some city that will give it to them -- that will be a pretty open declaration from them at least. Plenty of media access to that and PATFO won't have to be involved in any of it.

[baseline bum]

This is a bit of a tangent, but relevant to the Spurs approach with the media...

They are in a bit of an interesting position right now, trying to get public funding for a new arena (a proposition which appears to be losing public support). Strategically, I don't think being secretive or aloof with the plans for the team (in general, not just related to Pop) is necessarily the best way to go about things. This is a pretty pivotal summer for the Spurs with potentially a new coach, (hopefully) the last Top 10 picks for the foreseeable future, potentially their first ever modern max contract extension, and a looming public vote for a new arena. It's interesting to see their public facing approach given all of that happening... landing Cooper Flagg would be a huge boost for them if we get so lucky.

Not so quick. Spurs have the 2030 Dallas and 2031 Sacramento unprotected swaps, along with a 2030 top 1 protected swap from Minnesota. Gotta think one of those will be top 10 after the way the Mavs have wrecked their roster and traded all their picks away and well Sac just being Sac. Wouldn't surprise me to see the 26 or 27 ATL become a top 10 either after they were morons and fired a GM who did an amazing job salvaging Murray into something useful.

[scott]

Sounds like SS&E are perhaps the ones who have a sense of entitlement.

[baseline bum]

If they don't get public funding for an arena, they'll just leave for some city that will give it to them -- that will be a pretty open declaration from them at least. Plenty of media access to that and PATFO won't have to be involved in any of it.

Welfare for the rich is as American as apple pie and school shootings.

[ChumpDumper]

Sounds like SS&E are perhaps the ones who have a sense of entitlement.
I think all major league sports owners do for the most part. As long as the municipalities keep paying up, why would they not feel this?

I haven't seen much of anything about public sentiment against Project Marvel and my gut feeling is it passes fairly easily. This isn't Austin we're talking about and if they can soak the tourists for the money again I figure most San Antonians would conclude why not?

[scott]

I think all major league sports owners do for the most part. As long as the municipalities keep paying up, why would they not feel this?

I haven't seen much of anything about public sentiment against Project Marvel and my gut feeling is it passes fairly easily. This isn't Austin we're talking about and if they can soak the tourists for the money again I figure most San Antonians would conclude why not?

I'm too far removed from San Antonio these days to have any kind of feel on public support, so I just have to go by what I read... but apparently the project is polling underwater and trending the wrong direction: https://sanantonioreport.org/latest-utsa-poll-appears-to-show-dip-in-support-for-project-marvel/

[scott]

Apparently one of the concerns that people have is around transparency. Recall, that Spurs had the city sign NDAs and do much of the initial planning in secret. This is consistent with the Spurs MO, but at least when it comes to a massive, publicly funded project - I think this rubs people the wrong way, especially in light of the current political environment.

If the Spurs want Project Marvel to pass, my outsider view is that they're taking the wrong approach... but I'm just a random text bot on the internet, for all intents and purposes.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Wait until the PR campaign starts and likely will be no organized opposition. The numbers will reverse. San Antonians will never risk losing the Spurs.

[ChumpDumper]

Thanks for the link. Yeah the early cloak and dagger stuff was just unnecessary and paternalistic but that's the way governments are these days. We'll see how the public gets sold on this since the alternative seems to be a bunch of slag heaps around Hemisfair Tower.

[Ice009]

Not so quick. Spurs have the 2030 Dallas and 2031 Sacramento unprotected swaps, along with a 2030 top 1 protected swap from Minnesota. Gotta think one of those will be top 10 after the way the Mavs have wrecked their roster and traded all their picks away and well Sac just being Sac. Wouldn't surprise me to see the 26 or 27 ATL become a top 10 either after they were morons and fired a GM who did an amazing job salvaging Murray into something useful.

Yeah, those could still be promising picks. With the Dallas and Minnesota swap in 2030, who gets what if the Spurs take either team's pick. For example, if the Spurs take Dallas' pick, does Minnesota just get to keep their pick and Dallas gets the Spurs' pick instead?

Also, what was the pick that the Spurs gave up in the De'Aaron Fox trade. Alright, just realized I answered my own question. It was the Minnesota 2031 pick the Spurs gave up in the trade with the Kings.

[exstatic]

Yeah, those could still be promising picks. With the Dallas and Minnesota swap in 2030, who gets what if the Spurs take either team's pick. For example, if the Spurs take Dallas' pick, does Minnesota just get to keep their pick and Dallas gets the Spurs' pick instead?

Also, what was the pick that the Spurs gave up in the De'Aaron Fox trade. Alright, just realized I answered my own question. It was the Minnesota swap the Spurs gave up in the trade with the Kings.

No, it was the Minnesota PICK in 20131.

The 2030 swaps will be processed as follows.

San Antonio will receive the most favorable of its 2030 1st round pick, Dallas' 2030 1st round pick and Minnesota's 2030 1st round pick protected for selection 1; Dallas will receive the less favorable of its pick and the San Antonio pick; Minnesota will receive the less favorable of (i) its pick and (ii) the more favorable of the San Antonio pick and the Dallas pick; if the Minnesota pick falls on its protected selection, then Minnesota's obligation to San Antonio will be extinguished and San Antonio will instead have the right to swap its pick for the Dallas pick

[Ice009]

Yeah, I got it, thanks. Edited that before your reply that is was the 2031 pick.

With the 2030 swaps, the wording has thrown me off. Why does Minnesota get the more favorable of the SA and Dallas pick. If the Spurs swapped for Minnesota's pick, wouldn't they just get the Spurs pick and Dallas gets to keep their own?

[exstatic]

Yeah, I got it, thanks. Edited that before your reply that is was the 2031 pick.

With the 2030 swaps, the wording has thrown me off. Why does Minnesota get the more favorable of the SA and Dallas pick. If the Spurs swapped for Minnesota's pick, wouldn't they just get the Spurs pick and Dallas gets to keep their own?

It is overly complicated verbage, but from a Spurs standpoint, all you have to know is that if Minnesota doesn’t get the #1 pick, we get the best pick of us, Dallas, and Minny. If Minnesota gets #1, we get the better pick of us and Dallas. Right now, I don’t care what happens with the other two picks after we get the best one.

[Obstructed_View]

That Dallas pick looks really good thanks to Nico.

[scott]

Yeah, I got it, thanks. Edited that before your reply that is was the 2031 pick.

With the 2030 swaps, the wording has thrown me off. Why does Minnesota get the more favorable of the SA and Dallas pick. If the Spurs swapped for Minnesota's pick, wouldn't they just get the Spurs pick and Dallas gets to keep their own?

If you are curious about how Swaps work when there are multiple, it's all about the order in which they are acquired and the conditions of the trade.

For this instance, the Spurs had first acquired the swap with DAL in the Reggie Bullock trade. So The Spurs 2030 Pick now becomes the best of SA/DAL. Dallas has already relinquished it's rights to take the worst of these two picks, and this happens first. AFTER this swap happens, the Spurs then have the right to Swap the better of SA/DAL with MIN (top 1 protected). SA would only do this if the MIN pick is higher, so MIN would get SA/DAL which by definition would be the second best (since SA already took the better of SA/DAL).

[MannyIsGod]

Wait until the PR campaign starts and likely will be no organized opposition. The numbers will reverse. San Antonians will never risk losing the Spurs.

You think tehre will be no organized opposition on a public tax for private sports arenas? lol, ok.

[buttsR4rebounding]

You think tehre will be no organized opposition on a public tax for private sports arenas? lol, ok.

It will have less than 1/10th the funding of the pro-arena forces and will be overwhelmed by the volume and variety of their messaging.

[Ice009]

If you are curious about how Swaps work when there are multiple, it's all about the order in which they are acquired and the conditions of the trade.

For this instance, the Spurs had first acquired the swap with DAL in the Reggie Bullock trade. So The Spurs 2030 Pick now becomes the best of SA/DAL. Dallas has already relinquished it's rights to take the worst of these two picks, and this happens first. AFTER this swap happens, the Spurs then have the right to Swap the better of SA/DAL with MIN (top 1 protected). SA would only do this if the MIN pick is higher, so MIN would get SA/DAL which by definition would be the second best (since SA already took the better of SA/DAL).

OK, thank you. That makes sense. So it goes in order the swaps were acquired.

[MannyIsGod]

It will have less than 1/10th the funding of the pro-arena forces and will be overwhelmed by the volume and variety of their messaging.

The groups opposing these issues ALWAYS have less money and they routinely make it a difficult political situation for the people in office proposing it. Money isn't everything.

I'm not saying this will or will not pass as I no longer live in San Antonio but I've seen more than enough stadium initiatives fail when people called them done deals. It happens ALL the damn time and these issues ALWAYS have organized opposition because not everyone gives a shit about sports teams and the amount of people that care about giving billionaires money to build stadiums is much larger than you think.

[scott]

The groups opposing these issues ALWAYS have less money and they routinely make it a difficult political situation for the people in office proposing it. Money isn't everything.

I'm not saying this will or will not pass as I no longer live in San Antonio but I've seen more than enough stadium initiatives fail when people called them done deals. It happens ALL the damn time and these issues ALWAYS have organized opposition because not everyone gives a shit about sports teams and the amount of people that care about giving billionaires money to build stadiums is much larger than you think.

And it appears the Spurs aren't starting out from a position of strength on this matter. Would be interesting to see how early polling looked for various initiatives that passed/failed elsewhere (I'm not going to actually do this research). But no matter how you slice it, this initiative being under water out of the gates is not a positive sign.

[ChumpDumper]

I'll have to review the possible sites for an arena up here in Austin again, then.

[bigzak25]

The groups opposing these issues ALWAYS have less money and they routinely make it a difficult political situation for the people in office proposing it. Money isn't everything.

I'm not saying this will or will not pass as I no longer live in San Antonio but I've seen more than enough stadium initiatives fail when people called them done deals. It happens ALL the damn time and these issues ALWAYS have organized opposition because not everyone gives a shit about sports teams and the amount of people that care about giving billionaires money to build stadiums is much larger than you think.

Good to see you online Sir. I hope you and your family are doing well. Godbless and Go Spurs Go!

[slick'81]

Enjoy retirement pop we all love ya

[baseline bum]

The groups opposing these issues ALWAYS have less money and they routinely make it a difficult political situation for the people in office proposing it. Money isn't everything.

I'm not saying this will or will not pass as I no longer live in San Antonio but I've seen more than enough stadium initiatives fail when people called them done deals. It happens ALL the damn time and these issues ALWAYS have organized opposition because not everyone gives a shit about sports teams and the amount of people that care about giving billionaires money to build stadiums is much larger than you think.

Yeah last one to die out of nowhere when it was a supposedly done deal was the Tampa Rays stadium deal thanks to the hurricane tearing up the roof at their current stadium.

[K...]

can we get a new thread, or use the other pop is TOSB can't wipe his ass thread? he can only pull the "im going to the restaurant, ahh medical emergency i can't pay my bill" trick so many times before they stop seating him

[MannyIsGod]

Yeah last one to die out of nowhere when it was a supposedly done deal was the Tampa Rays stadium deal thanks to the hurricane tearing up the roof at their current stadium.

The caps and wizards owner tried to move them out of DC to a stadium across the River in Alexandria and it was a "done deal" until it wasn't and he came crawling back to DC. I don't think people realize how little negotiating power a lot of owners have now compared to 15-20 years ago because people hated the stadiums that were built for them with public money. Its very different today and that's why you have a lot more owners paying for their own stadiums. Balmer just paid for his arena. Same with the Warriors arena. The Bucks arena was half public funded, but that was only 250 million. The Spurs are looking at a 1.2-1.5 BILLION dollar arena as part of this project which I mean JFC. San Antonio should probably be looking more to something like what the Bucks have not something along the lines of what Balmer paid for with the Clippers. I think some parts of the project probably should be financed with public money - not the arena - but man if you guys think people are going to want to foot a new tax after the recession the orange idiot is about to put us all in then I think you've forgotten how people respond to shit like that during a recession. Especially when when billionaires are going to get blamed (rightly) almost exclusively.

Yeah, if the Spurs want a new arena they're probably going to have to pay for it. And people can talk about Austin, but I really doubt Austin is going to want to build a new one after they just build the soccer stadium but maybe. I doubt it.

[baseline bum]

The caps and wizards owner tried to move them out of DC to a stadium across the River in Alexandria and it was a "done deal" until it wasn't and he came crawling back to DC. I don't think people realize how little negotiating power a lot of owners have now compared to 15-20 years ago because people hated the stadiums that were built for them with public money. Its very different today and that's why you have a lot more owners paying for their own stadiums. Balmer just paid for his arena. Same with the Warriors arena. The Bucks arena was half public funded, but that was only 250 million. The Spurs are looking at a 1.2-1.5 BILLION dollar arena as part of this project which I mean JFC. San Antonio should probably be looking more to something like what the Bucks have not something along the lines of what Balmer paid for with the Clippers. I think some parts of the project probably should be financed with public money - not the arena - but man if you guys think people are going to want to foot a new tax after the recession the orange idiot is about to put us all in then I think you've forgotten how people respond to shit like that during a recession. Especially when when billionaires are going to get blamed (rightly) almost exclusively.

Yeah, if the Spurs want a new arena they're probably going to have to pay for it. And people can talk about Austin, but I really doubt Austin is going to want to build a new one after they just build the soccer stadium but maybe. I doubt it.

I wouldn't read too much into LA and SF having privately financed arenas. LA and SF always tell owners to go fuck themselves when they beg for stadiums because they're extremely desirable markets. LA resisted the NFL coming for 20 years until the Rams paid for their own stadium and SF told the 49ers to go ahead and leave when they tried to shake them down for a stadium. Also man San Antonio area probably isn't going to blame the billionaires. I just want to slug people in the cock out here when they bitch about Biden out of nowhere while Trump is crashing the economy so his criminal friends can buy the dip, suspending the first amendment, deporting citizens, and kidnapping legal residents to traffic to literal concentration camps.

[dn0774]

Didn’t the Spurs just pay for/open a brand new practice facility and offices that cost a pretty penny? Would a threat to leave even be credible as that would require walking away from that investment they made?

[Extra Stout]

Part of the price tag on the Spurs arena is redevelopment of that part of HemisFair Park, correct? Has the existing redevelopment moved the numbers on the downtown economy at all? Like, do people go downtown to take their kids to Yanaguana Park and then stay downtown and spend money? Or is it all just a prestige project?

[ChumpDumper]

The arena itself is estimated at ~$1.5B. The rest is for convention center expansion, a hotel and making the courthouse into an event venue.

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2025/04/04/city-of-san-antonio-bexar-county-unite-with-the-spurs-to-sign-mou-for-downtown-sports-and-entertainment-district/

[Extra Stout]

It would be a lot more cost-effective to renovate Frost Bank Center. Admittedly, its location is not great. There is something to be said about having an arena smack dab in the entertainment district like the FedEx Forum on Beale Street, but I cannot see all those costs being recouped.

Did that San Pedro Creek development project ever turn into anything, or has it just become someplace for the homeless to hang out?

[itzsoweezee]

I’d be on board with JVG taking over for Pop
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6319033/2025/04/29/jeff-van-gundy-clippers-defense-nba-playoffs/?source=user_shared_article Jeff Van Gundy has been Clippers’ not-so-secret weapon on defense all year long

[LeBowen]

I’d be on board with JVG taking over for Pop
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6319033/2025/04/29/jeff-van-gundy-clippers-defense-nba-playoffs/?source=user_shared_article Jeff Van Gundy has been Clippers’ not-so-secret weapon on defense all year long

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dvMMOjBMkJg/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwE7CK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAy0IARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJ D8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGCcgWihyMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCs8fLLCxR_Eb8C4VHDeID-dVYHsg

Can hold a rebound better than most of our roster. :lol

[spurraider21]

i thought JVG was a really good coach in his day. but he hasnt been a head coach for nearly 20 years and has been an assistant for 1 year since 2007. i also thought he was one of the better color commentators on TV

but this would be kinda ridiculous imo

[exstatic]

i thought JVG was a really good coach in his day. but he hasnt been a head coach for nearly 20 years and has been an assistant for 1 year since 2007. i also thought he was one of the better color commentators on TV

but this would be kinda ridiculous imo

Back in the day, the Knicks offense was like watching paint dry. The only thing I might hire him for is to be a defensive coordinator under a head coach, pretty much what he’s doing now.

[benefactor]

Back in the day, the Knicks offense was like watching paint dry. The only thing I might hire him for is to be a defensive coordinator under a head coach, pretty much what he’s doing now.
Yeah I read a pretty good piece on him recently. He's great as a teacher, but it seems like he works better now under a head coach instead of as one.

[objective]

JVG was also the kind of "old school" bully who would pick favorites and go out if his way to humiliate players he didn't like and would refuse to play for whatever arbitrary reason.

[vy65]

With the MIL implosion, threats of Giannis leaving, and their short-to-mid term future looking like a pure dumpster fire, I wouldn't be surprised to see Doc get fired soon. MIL could pivot to some of the better names out there (e.g., Jenkins) in the hopes that will calm Giannis down. All of which is to say, time is running out to get clarity on this situation because names are soon going to be coming off the board.

[BackHome]

I would not be surprised if G. ends up going to the Flakers

[exstatic]

I would not be surprised if G. ends up going to the Flakers

Are they going to pay for him with potato chips and dip? ‘Cause they have one tradeable FRP, and i suspect Milwaukee’s GM isn’t as retarded as Nico, and knows the value of what he has.

[BatManu20]

I would not be surprised if G. ends up going to the Flakers

They don't have the assets. They only have 3 FRP's in the next 6 years ('26, '28, & '30) which would all be late First Rounders with Luka and Giannis there together. They don't have any young players that would be nearly good enough to form a trade package around. Austin Reeves is nice but he and 3 late FRP's ain't getting you Giannis, sorry. Bucks aren't just going to gift him to the Lakers either. Jon Horst ain't Nico Harrison.

[BatManu20]

If* Giannis were to be moved this offseason, the Rockets and Nets are prob the 2 early favorites. Both have a plethora of draft capital they could offer. Houston has some nice young players as well that they could build a trade package around (Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, Reed Shepard, etc).

Warriors would likely try to go all-in on him, but they don't have the assets to get him either imo and not sure Giannis would want to hitch his wagon to soon-to-be 38 year-old Steph Curry, 36 year-old Draymond, and 36 year-old Jimmy Butler anyways.

Miami would definitely go hard after him but don't think they have the assets either unless they trade Bam and/or Hero, in which case Giannis' supporting cast would take a huge hit there and that would suddenly become a lot less appealing.

Every team will pick up the phone but ultimately there's only a handful of teams who have the assets and/or the competitive situation to suit Giannis right now.

My guess is Milwaukee goes all out to try and bring in better players this surround him this offseason, but considering they don't have many assets either, the writing does feel like it's on the wall for his tenure there. I think ultimately Giannis wants out of Milwaukee because their roster sucks (along with their HC) and they don't really have a way to improve it significantly right now, and that will seal his fate with that franchise. I think he eventually becomes a Rocket or a Net but we'll see.

[dn0774]

If* Giannis were to be moved this offseason, the Rockets and Nets are prob the 2 early favorites. Both have a plethora of draft capital they could offer. Houston has some nice young players as well that they could build a trade package around (Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, Reed Shepard, etc).

Warriors would likely try to go all-in on him, but they don't have the assets to get him either imo and not sure Giannis would want to hitch his wagon to soon-to-be 38 year-old Steph Curry, 36 year-old Draymond, and 36 year-old Jimmy Butler anyways.

Miami would definitely go hard after him but don't think they have the assets either unless they trade Bam and/or Hero, in which case Giannis' supporting cast would take a huge hit there and that would suddenly become a lot less appealing.

Every team will pick up the phone but ultimately there's only a handful of teams who have the assets and/or the competitive situation to suit Giannis right now.

My guess is Milwaukee goes all out to try and bring in better players this surround him this offseason, but considering they don't have many assets either, the writing does feel like it's on the wall for his tenure there. I think ultimately Giannis wants out of Milwaukee because their roster sucks (along with their HC) and they don't really have a way to improve it significantly right now, and that will seal his fate with that franchise. I think he eventually becomes a Rocket or a Net but we'll see.

This is absolutely one of those rare times where the best thing for the player and the best thing for the team is totally aligned; he needs to be traded. Giannis gets to play for a competitive and relevant team and the Bucks can get a nice combo of young talented players and 1st round picks to conduct a much needed proper rebuild with. Coming out of the Giannis era with 1 title to show for it might seem underwhelming but thats the NBA for ya...I bet the Thunder never would've thought the KD/Russ/Harden era would produce zero titles.

I think they understand that even with Dame in the fold they weren't close. I hope other teams took note as well that 2 "superstars" isn't a free pass to the Finals anymore, totally top heavy teams get exposed quickly now. I was excited by the Dame trade not because I thought he would do well, but because it would be interesting data going forward. Almost in Moneyball fashion, I felt like Jrue Holiday was a more impactful player in terms of wins added than Dame was (at this point in Dames career) and I feel kind of vindicated in thinking that. Jrue had just gotten torched by Jimmy Butler in the playoffs so his value cratered, and Dame has the rep of sexy offensive superstar which always carries weight in the league. Disaster trade in hindsight considering the capital the Bucks had to give up.

[exstatic]

This is absolutely one of those rare times where the best thing for the player and the best thing for the team is totally aligned; he needs to be traded. Giannis gets to play for a competitive and relevant team and the Bucks can get a nice combo of young talented players and 1st round picks to conduct a much needed proper rebuild with. Coming out of the Giannis era with 1 title to show for it might seem underwhelming but thats the NBA for ya...I bet the Thunder never would've thought the KD/Russ/Harden era would produce zero titles.

I think they understand that even with Dame in the fold they weren't close. I hope other teams took note as well that 2 "superstars" isn't a free pass to the Finals anymore, totally top heavy teams get exposed quickly now. I was excited by the Dame trade not because I thought he would do well, but because it would be interesting data going forward. Almost in Moneyball fashion, I felt like Jrue Holiday was a more impactful player in terms of wins added than Dame was (at this point in Dames career) and I feel kind of vindicated in thinking that. Jrue had just gotten torched by Jimmy Butler in the playoffs so his value cratered, and Dame has the rep of sexy offensive superstar which always carries weight in the league. Disaster trade in hindsight considering the capital the Bucks had to give up.

That was one of the reasons the second apron was implemented, to end dynasties, when only a handful of teams could assemble a credible big three. The NBA was headed in the direction of MLB.

[vy65]

This is absolutely one of those rare times where the best thing for the player and the best thing for the team is totally aligned; he needs to be traded. Giannis gets to play for a competitive and relevant team and the Bucks can get a nice combo of young talented players and 1st round picks to conduct a much needed proper rebuild with. Coming out of the Giannis era with 1 title to show for it might seem underwhelming but thats the NBA for ya...I bet the Thunder never would've thought the KD/Russ/Harden era would produce zero titles.

I think they understand that even with Dame in the fold they weren't close. I hope other teams took note as well that 2 "superstars" isn't a free pass to the Finals anymore, totally top heavy teams get exposed quickly now. I was excited by the Dame trade not because I thought he would do well, but because it would be interesting data going forward. Almost in Moneyball fashion, I felt like Jrue Holiday was a more impactful player in terms of wins added than Dame was (at this point in Dames career) and I feel kind of vindicated in thinking that. Jrue had just gotten torched by Jimmy Butler in the playoffs so his value cratered, and Dame has the rep of sexy offensive superstar which always carries weight in the league. Disaster trade in hindsight considering the capital the Bucks had to give up.

This reminds me a lot of when KG got traded from MIN to BOS. It wasn't like either side really wanted to do it, but they both understood that it was in both their interests to do so.

[spurraider21]

This reminds me a lot of when KG got traded from MIN to BOS. It wasn't like either side really wanted to do it, but they both understood that it was in both their interests to do so.
am i getting this wrong, or did KG initially block his trade to Boston, but after Ray Allen was shipped there, he relented and joined?

edit: yep

https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2954127

[Splits]

any sports organization faced with this situation have plan A (Pop comes back) and start with plan B (Pop doesn't come back) as soon as the stroke happened, he could die the next day. To think they haven't started with plan B and are "waiting for Pop's decision" is asinine. Knowing the Spurs this is being executed by a small group in a total media blackout, at a minimum the all candidates have had virtual interviews but most likely the decision has been made, and the announcement will happen on a Friday night at the last moment possible when nobody is paying attention that Pop is being replaced by new head coach X. What is not asinine is to think coach X will be the wrong decision.

Damn, was afternoon not night

[Ice009]

I wonder how serious this incident ended up being and if it played much of a factor in Pop eventually being convinced to step down.