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Doc would've bolted for Orlando at the first chance and taken Tim with him.
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...rs-head-coach/
Good read. One regular season loss could've changed the Spurs as we know them
Would "28 seconds" have happened with Doc at the helm? (Kidding)
Doc would've bolted for Orlando at the first chance and taken Tim with him.
I forgot about ORL and Timmy
For those around at the time and remember, was this a legit concern or just media trying to stir the pot like what happened with Vogel this season?
Semi legit. I remember coming home from that day game Utah loss. The post game call in show was a blood bath.
There's not really a media problem per se, there's a problem with too many media outlets all vying for the same small crumbs of information. Because of this, some stories are embellished and sometimes, as in the Tim Duncan "trash talk", completely fabricated.
no way doc could have taken our team to the finals, so i guess no, 6 wouldn't have happened
great story in the next game where they all pull together and save pops job thumping the rockets? i want to say it was.
People forget how much Pop was despised for firing Bob Hill. I remember people referring to him as Pop the Snake. Hill was the poor man's D'Antonio and had the spurs playing exciting offense so people loved him...but the defense was ty. Imo it was Hill who cost the Spurs their first ring in 94. Now everyone says Hakeem owned DRob in that series but what I remember was Tomajanovich double/triple teaming DRob on one end and on the other end Hill just stuck DRob out on an island to guard Hakeem 1 on 1.
After that he traded George Hill, who knows maybe the next one is Solomon Hill, snake Pop hates Hill people (CIA POP).
Pop was extremely close to getting axed and the Spurs were in talks with Portland about trading David Robinson for Rasheed Wallace. Amazing how close this franchise came to losing it all, because without the 99 le the arena vote fails for a second time and the Spurs move to New Orleans.
Doubt one game. Some of that stuff is urban legend designed to make things a little more dramatic. Same with Tim leaving.
Thank god for ping pong balls
That was actually closer than people think. Orlando did a good job with only two mistakes: at the time, Tim virtually lived on Wendys, and they served some kind of fancy brunch, and they had an absolute policy forbidding wives/GFs on team flights, where the Spurs allowed in on an occasional basis.
No, both of those things were pretty real. I can't say for sure what Peter Holt and management was likely to do with Popovich after that Utah game in 1999, but there was a palpable feel in the city (and particularly in the Alamodome) that Pop's job was officially on the line around that time. I don't think the Houston game that followed saved his job per se, but I do think that the run that started that night in Houston changed the course of the franchise.
And Tim leaving was absolutely the real deal. It was insane in San Antonio around that time, with people trying to read the tea leaves of Tim's demeanor and actions to figure out what he was going to do -- and the wait was just excruciating. I remember everyone talking about the appeal of Orlando because it was closer to St. Croix and things like that. Reports about Tim moving his prescriptions to an Orlando pharmacy and things like that were also swirling everywhere. It was a crazy time and it felt very real that Tim was unsure about what he was going to do. I think his retrospective comments make clear that none of that was imagined.
Marc Stein describes the situation in his recent piece about Pop-Tim relationship
There are testimonies from Kerr, Rose, Avery and Bud, leaving little doubt about Pop job security at the time
I've never heard this before...
I greatly doubt that the USAA ownership group would sack the coach 14 games into a lockout shortened season where there was essentially no training camp or preseason. How would that help anyone? But it makes a good story.
I think Tim was kind of trolling the Magic when they laid out that huge feast and he sent them off to get some Wendy's bacon cheeseburgers instead. Kind of like when he trolled Pop by telling him he had decided to go to Orlando, and then busted out laughing and told him he was kidding after seeing Pop's dejected reaction. I think Pop's response was along the lines of 'I need a drink.'
I don't. Pop seemed like a stopgap when Hill got fired, but he stuck around another year after. Did you read that ESPN article where Avery flat out said he was about to get fired after the Utah game, and how David gave this big motivational speech before the Houston game about how they had to get that one? They were both really loyal to Pop after he took the heat for firing Hill, since they were the ones who wanted him out but Pop didn't want their names dragged through the mud as coach killers by the media.
I don't. Pop seemed like a stopgap when Hill got fired, but he stuck around another year after. Did you read that ESPN article where Avery flat out said he was about to get fired after the Utah game, and how David gave this big motivational speech before the Houston game about how they had to get that one? They were both really loyal to Pop after he took the heat for firing Hill, since they were the ones who wanted him out but Pop didn't want their names dragged through the mud as coach killers by the media.
Not sure about Doc, but it made some sense for Tim to sign with Orlando. Grant Hill who just signed there was a bona fide all-NBA player, and people didn't know how serious was his injury. While already good in 2003, it wasn't sure Parker would reach all-NBA level too, and Manu seemed to be a role player at that point.
wow- this is taking me back. In regards to Hill getting fired I remember POP taking the heat for that, but I also remember the players where complaining because he was such a bad X's and O's guy. They would complain that they would break the huddle at critical moments in the game and have no clue what they were doing.
Pop getting fired definitely seemed like a real deal, I don't remember specifics but I do remember the buzz. People hated him back then.
Tim leaving, worst few months ever. I can still remember visiting Orlando while that was going on. They had bill boards of Duncan in a 21 Orlando Jersey, local businesses had welcome Tim Duncan signs up on their buildings, they set him up for a round of golf with tiger woods and all sorts of other stuff... I remember arguing with my buddies about if Duncan would stay or go. All I remember is that Robinson left his family vacation to come back and presumably talk Duncan into staying. That might have been the most significant contribution that Robinson had for the franchise.
I remember it was 50/50 that summer, and all the Stay Tim Stay signs
Also, after the 2002 curbstomping at the hands of the Lakers, I felt like the Spurs needed several pieces (shooters a reliable bench pieces) to contend. 4-down every play was not cutting it. If the Spurs didn't go out and sign Brent Barry (IIRC), Tim could have requested a trade.
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