Pop's interview: "nothing should be rushed"

[Mr. Body]

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

Spurs fans: What an incredible philosophy. It takes effort to build what you want and you don't always see what's happening. What a great franchise.

Also Spurs fans: What the . Why isn't [some immediate thing] happening.

Y'all just need to follow some other team.

[Atl Spur]

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

Spurs fans: What an incredible philosophy. It takes effort to build what you want and you don't always see what's happening. What a great franchise.

Also Spurs fans: What the . Why isn't [some immediate thing] happening.

Y'all just need to follow some other team.

Big man, don’t let these clowns stress you. There are plenty on this board who likes to talk ball.

[LeBowen]

LMA and DDR were pounding the rock for three years and all we got were 10th seeds.
In the end it all worked out because we lucked into Wemby, but pounding the rock doesn't work if there's noone (as in good players) to pound it with.
I doubt PATFO was planning for Wemby in 2018 when they chose mediocrity (DDR) over having a proper rebuild.

We pounded the rock with Forbes.
Lonnie also had his fair share of pounding.
So did various other scrubs like Lyles etc.
Keldon's been at it for almost five years now and he still has zero vision and is horrible defensively.

It was easy to pound the rock with Timmy and two elite playmakers with high IQ.
You can pound the rock to turn a good playoff team into a championship team.

You can't pound the rock to go from worst team in the league to a championship team.
Theoretically you can, but we'll see how Wemby reacts if we're in for another season of less than 30 wins.

[K...]

LMA and DDR were pounding the rock for three years and all we got were 10th seeds.
In the end it all worked out because we lucked into Wemby, but pounding the rock doesn't work if there's noone (as in good players) to pound it with.
I doubt PATFO was planning for Wemby in 2018 when they chose mediocrity (DDR) over having a proper rebuild.

We pounded the rock with Forbes.
Lonnie also had his fair share of pounding.
So did various other scrubs like Lyles etc.
Keldon's been at it for almost five years now and he still has zero vision and is horrible defensively.

It was easy to pound the rock with Timmy and two elite playmakers with high IQ.
You can pound the rock to turn a good playoff team into a championship team.

You can't pound the rock to go from worst team in the league to a championship team.
Theoretically you can, but we'll see how Wemby reacts if we're in for another season of less than 30 wins.

Ok so fix it.

[vy65]

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

Spurs fans: What an incredible philosophy. It takes effort to build what you want and you don't always see what's happening. What a great franchise.

Also Spurs fans: What the . Why isn't [some immediate thing] happening.

Y'all just need to follow some other team.

^ Male Karen

[itzsoweezee]

Pounding the rock is embracing incompetence. This guy knows basketball!

[poopbox]

Vassell is still improving as well. Folks don't appreciate that he's also not being put in an ideal position on the current roster. If the goal is for him to develop into a number-two or -three for a superstar, then he's having to do that while playing next to a raw, inefficient player who's taking superstar touches. No, that's not ting on Wemby, but this isn't Maxey/Embiid or Parker/Duncan. This isn't a young talent finding his way next to an established superstar. This is a guy who was told he'd have to grow into a first option trying to figure out what role he needs to play with an uber-talent 20-year-old who himself is trying to define his game. A lot of people are upset that Vassell seems to still think of himself as a first-option, but it might actually help Wemby is Vassell were that guy. Maybe it'd help both of them if someone else were able to come in and be that guy for a couple of years.

I really wish Jimmy Butler were available. Even at his age, he seems like the perfect guy to push Devin to the next level and provide support for Wemby while also leaving ample room for Victor to grow.

I keep seeing posters here bring this up about Devin. That he is somehow being held back by this roster. I don't see it. He is a guy who shots are based on if he can get to spots he likes on the floor. If he gets to them he is shooting it almost regardless of anything else happening on the court. If he doesn't get to those spots, he probably not shooting it regardless of what happens on the court. I don't see a guy like that changing very much based on what changes you make to the team around him.

I'm not even sure his shot quality would change all that much on a different team, since he likes to dribble into and take so many contested jumpers. I think people see those types of shots and blame them on his teammates "not creating another spacing", where as I think that no matter how much spacing you give Devin if he comes off a screen around the freethrow line and his defender is not on his hip he shooting it and what is happening around him doesn't matter that much.

[The Truth #6]

Yeah, a lot of Devin's work on offense seems to have been him practicing certain dribble moves that he falls into, and less reacting to the game. Hopefully next year he shows more reactivity and less predetermination.

[rankingtear]

Ur ignoring the fact that we CLEARLY don't have an offensive system built around Wemby... Pop doesn't know how to use him... He is just used to set screens and run around trying to get open... For a HOF coach that's not a good look... Every great rookie has their flaws, but you at least see what the plan is around then offensively... Pop has them playing pick-up ball... To have an offensive system that rarely puts Wemby or Vassel in positions to score easily is insane... Every great coach has a point where the game has lost them, and I think it has been there with pop for a few years now... There's no way we should be among the worst defensive teams in the league regardless of our personnel... The GOAT coach should be able to have this roster be at LEAST a middle of the pack defensive team... He is coaching as if it's still 2003... Everyone can shoot now and he constantly have our players in drop coverage off ball to defend against drives and to help in the pain... That's why for years we have been the worst team at guardiang the 3... And why teams like the magic always have amazing shooting games against us despite being a horrible shooting team... Most of their shots were wide open

You can't really develop an offensive system yet , there is just nothing there that is elite. It is still early development for him on offense, hopefully he develops a spot on the floor he can score consistently aside from being a roller.

[JPB]

LMA and DDR were pounding the rock for three years and all we got were 10th seeds.
In the end it all worked out because we lucked into Wemby, but pounding the rock doesn't work if there's noone (as in good players) to pound it with.
I doubt PATFO was planning for Wemby in 2018 when they chose mediocrity (DDR) over having a proper rebuild.

We pounded the rock with Forbes.
Lonnie also had his fair share of pounding.
So did various other scrubs like Lyles etc.
Keldon's been at it for almost five years now and he still has zero vision and is horrible defensively.

It was easy to pound the rock with Timmy and two elite playmakers with high IQ.
You can pound the rock to turn a good playoff team into a championship team.



You can't pound the rock to go from worst team in the league to a championship team.
Theoretically you can, but we'll see how Wemby reacts if we're in for another season of less than 30 wins.

That's a great post and the whole point.

They are basically telling you to shut up and put all your faith in a 80 y.o coach who had success with a philosophy that worked 10 to 20 years ago because he "pounded the rock" with 4 future HOFers, but had no sucess "pounding the rock" with lesser players... And you're not a real fan if you don't blindly trust a coach, who hasn't honestly done a great job this year (and the last) in terms of developmment, to turn these kids he's still teaching fundamentals in their 4th or 5th year into a contender thanks to that magical philosophy that didn't work with better players than Keldon, Devin and Tre..

Pop seems lost at times, and so does the team, wiht players who don't seem to understand what they're doing or where they're going...You can pound the rock all you want with a plastic hammer, and see what happens.

[LeBowen]

They are basically telling you to shut up and put all your faith in a 80 y.o coach who had success with a philosophy that worked 10 to 20 years ago because he "pounded the rock" with 4 future HOFers, but had no sucess "pounding the rock" with lesser players... And you're not a real fan if you don't blindly trust him now to turn these kids he's still teaching fundamental in their 4th or 5th year into a contender thanks to that magical philosophy that didn't work with better players than Keldon, Devin and Tre...

If you look around the world of sports, a lot of dynasties and all-time great teams fell off because of the same people that brought them to the top.
Whether it be team owners, managers or coaches, time eventually catches up with everyone. And a lot of those teams never recovered.
It's often hard for people who have been successful for an entire lifteime to realize when it's enough.

Ever since nephew incident there have been way too many questionable moves that set the team back.
All of that was erased in last year's lottery. Still, those failures have to raise questions.
Forgive me for not having full confidence in this front office after all their failures.

PATFO is still in amazing position, but only if they capitalize on it.
Just pounding the rock will not work. We need a couple of masterstrokes.
Picking the right point guard out of this year's class and more importantly making a couple of trades that will change the landscape of this roster.
Those trades don't have to include star players, but we need something. Trotting out this same roster with a rookie point guard will result in another wasted year.

[Spursfanfromafar]

That's a great post and the whole point.

They are basically telling you to shut up and put all your faith in a 80 y.o coach who had success with a philosophy that worked 10 to 20 years ago because he "pounded the rock" with 4 future HOFers, but had no sucess "pounding the rock" with lesser players... And you're not a real fan if you don't blindly trust a coach, who hasn't honestly done a great job this year (and the last) in terms of developmment, to turn these kids he's still teaching fundamentals in their 4th or 5th year into a contender thanks to that magical philosophy that didn't work with better players than Keldon, Devin and Tre..

Pop seems lost at times, and so does the team, wiht players who don't seem to understand what they're doing or where they're going...You can pound the rock all you want with a plastic hammer, and see what happens.

I actually have issues more with PATFO as a front office than PATFO as a coaching unit. If pounding the rock is only possible with HOFers.. we might not have seen players like Murray becoming an all-star, White becoming a borderline All Star, Poeltl being really good when he was in SA, Anderson becoming a key contributor as a role player, and even Jonathan Simmons becoming an NBA player. Heck, just the White/Murray and even Lonnie Walker stories are enough to confirm that Pop is a great coach at moulding middling talent and bringing the best out of them. Among the current lot, I would say Vassell and Tre Jones have shown significant improvement from what they were.. a few years ago.. while Wesley seems to be on the path of improvement. Keldon is more of an exception in the way his defense has stagnated .. he is clearly a better offensive player than he was before.. more well rounded in terms of passing/ playmaking.

So, yeah.. Poundingtherock (TM) isn't the issue. Getting the right talent is. I am also willing to give Pop the benefit of doubt for the Sochan experiment. It was worth trying to make a better player out of Sochan by honing his passing/ playmaking. It was the wrong move, but it was worth trying.

My problem is with the front office. They wasted a valuable pick by drafting Primo. And they made a mistake in trading for Derozan to play with Aldridge which was a poor fit. They also made a mistake in drafting Samanic at 19, when they could have got Clarke, Poole or Claxton or even Nassir Little. Their dragnet for picking role players/ FAs has resulted in poor selections - from DeMar Carroll to Stanley Johnson to Zollins etc.

All their mistakes were more or less negated when they lucked into Wemby. But unless they do a far better job of drafting talent, using FA and trade markets imaginatively, their mistakes will go on to hurt them even more. The FO is the real issue for me.

I think the coaching isn't that much of a problem. It is evident in how Wemby himself is growing into such an efficient player. Or how Pop got minutes restrictions for Wemby and that made him learn to maximise his efficiency in the minutes he played. There are still a lot of steps for Wemby to cross before becoming a superstar and one of them is to have the conditioning/ stamina/ fitness to play longer minutes and multiple games in a small span of time and do it very well. It will come for him as he grows, but Pop is the right coach for him to get these going. And it is evident that Pop is grooming him well into becoming a better player. Every opponent that the Spurs face say this too.. that he has the right coaching surrounding him and that is helping him.

Again, to reiterate, its Pop as the President and Wright as the GM who need to pull up their socks. They have to be ruthless in the offseason and find far better pieces than Branham, Osman, Zollins, Champagnie, Mamu, Graham, and if need be, even Sochan to back-up Wemby. They shouldn't only use the draft to get better. That would be folly and would increase Wemby's frustration. I hope RC Buford is more involved too. I trust him more than Wright.

[scott]

That's a great post and the whole point.

They are basically telling you to shut up and put all your faith in a 80 y.o coach who had success with a philosophy that worked 10 to 20 years ago because he "pounded the rock" with 4 future HOFers, but had no sucess "pounding the rock" with lesser players... And you're not a real fan if you don't blindly trust a coach, who hasn't honestly done a great job this year (and the last) in terms of developmment, to turn these kids he's still teaching fundamentals in their 4th or 5th year into a contender thanks to that magical philosophy that didn't work with better players than Keldon, Devin and Tre..

Pop seems lost at times, and so does the team, wiht players who don't seem to understand what they're doing or where they're going...You can pound the rock all you want with a plastic hammer, and see what happens.

What an amazingly perfect analogy.

You see a frail old man pounding away at a massive piece of granite with a plastic toy hammer... it is fair to ask, "what is that old man doing?"

Old Man: I'm pounding the rock! Just be patient!

The Old Man's friends: He is pounding the rock. YOU JUST DON'T GET IT. You need to be patient. You see, this old man broke a rock 20 years ago [they forget to mention: it was a different composition of rock; the old man was of much different body and mind; and he was equipped with state of the art, world-class tools at the time].

If you're going to pound the rock, at least use the proper tools and put them in the hands of the right people.

[Atl Spur]

That's a great post and the whole point.

They are basically telling you to shut up and put all your faith in a 80 y.o coach who had success with a philosophy that worked 10 to 20 years ago because he "pounded the rock" with 4 future HOFers, but had no sucess "pounding the rock" with lesser players... And you're not a real fan if you don't blindly trust a coach, who hasn't honestly done a great job this year (and the last) in terms of developmment, to turn these kids he's still teaching fundamentals in their 4th or 5th year into a contender thanks to that magical philosophy that didn't work with better players than Keldon, Devin and Tre..

Pop seems lost at times, and so does the team, wiht players who don't seem to understand what they're doing or where they're going...You can pound the rock all you want with a plastic hammer, and see what happens.

Brother, this year is a teaching and coaching type thing than anything else…… these boys are learning there are only more mountains behind mountains.

[spurraider21]

Did you watch the game? Wemby looked dead out there. It seems obvious the minutes restriction was good for him or in the very least that he's not at all used to playing without it.

was obviously not a very serious response to the well thought out post you had put up.

i do agree his conditioning is a problem, and this is something that we've noticed even prior to the minutes restriction, but it was even more obvious before he switched a center and was sprinting around trying to leap at every 3 point attempt then sprint down the court before rebounds were secured. the problem with the strict minutes restriction is there leaves no room for feel. what if its a close game and you just want him in there for a few more minutes? im ok with him playing between 28-30 minutes most nights. 22 is just too low unless he's actually hurting. even if he's not playing very effectively, you have to give him opportunities to play through adversity. of course, the caveat is if pop was legitimately pissed at him and actually benched him for performance as a teaching moment, and not just a "hey man, this just doesnt feel like your night, take the rest of it off." because thats not a good lesson.

i also agree that right now it would be pretty tough to assemble a good, competing team with wemby as its best player. he still lacks consistency on offense. on a given night, i have no clue how he's going to score. im not even sure he does. even when he catches the ball in the midpost, i dont think ive seen him replicate a shot. everything just looks like instinct. like the little underhanded scoop against embiid. i hadnt seen him attempt that before nor since. every shot attempt feels unique, off different footwork, different release point, etc. its great that he has enough touch and feel to be able to score in a wild assortment of ways, but he does need to develop a set of comfortable go-to moves he can lean on when things are rough, instead of just putting his head down and trying to dribble through guys.

but as hard as it is to build a great team around wemby right now, its also not like thats the goal. while the lack of talent around him allows him to be in an environment where he can carelessly or sloppily experiment in ways chet cant, he also isnt getting "playoff style basketball" experience at all, because there is no such infrastructure around him. if he was traded for chet yesterday, im not sure he'd know how to play disciplined and mistake free the way chet does.

[spurraider21]

Yeah, a lot of Devin's work on offense seems to have been him practicing certain dribble moves that he falls into, and less reacting to the game. Hopefully next year he shows more reactivity and less predetermination.

those are steps in the process though. an time you practice/drill a specific move, you practice it deliberately knowing you're going to make exactly that move. then you start finding situations in a game where you find yourself in position to put that move to use. do it enough and you start being able to chain moves or improvise more as the footwork and timing becomes more second nature.

kobe wasnt putting people into the post up torture chamber as a 22 year old

[Leetonidas]

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

Spurs fans: What an incredible philosophy. It takes effort to build what you want and you don't always see what's happening. What a great franchise.

Also Spurs fans: What the . Why isn't [some immediate thing] happening.

Y'all just need to follow some other team.

Or you can just let people talk what they want to talk about and stop trying to dictate discussion like you're in charge of anything here. you're always ting on ST and it's posters, maybe it's you who should go post somewhere else

You also thought this team was gonna win 40 games rofl

[spurraider21]

Or you can just let people talk what they want to talk about and stop trying to dictate discussion like you're in charge of anything here. you're always ting on ST and it's posters, maybe it's you who should go post somewhere else

You also thought this team was gonna win 40 games rofl

"anyone who bets the under is an idiot"

[Leetonidas]

"anyone who bets the under is an idiot"

Dude always going on about how everyone else doesn't know about basketball yet constantly has some of the most horrendous takes in ST history

[Bruno]

Right now, the team around Wembanyama is bad but Victor also sucks as a franchise player. What Victor is doing as a 19/20 years old rookie is just amazing but there are like 20 or 30 NBA players that are better than him right now.

Pop and Spurs' FO task is to follow the pace of Victor growth. If in 2 or 3 years Victor is a top 5 NBA player, he must be surrounded by a high quality supporting cast. On the other hand, having a supporting cast at a contender level this year or next year would be quite a waste with Victor not being able to lead them.

As Pop said, Victor and the team must grow together. They must do it at about the same pace for Spurs to be successful.

[itzsoweezee]

Right now, the team around Wembanyama is bad but Victor also sucks as a franchise player. What Victor is doing as a 19/20 years old rookie is just amazing but there are like 20 or 30 NBA players that are better than him right now.

Pop and Spurs' FO task is to follow the pace of Victor growth. If in 2 or 3 years Victor is a top 5 NBA player, he must be surrounded by a high quality supporting cast. On the other hand, having a supporting cast at a contender level this year or next year would be quite a waste with Victor not being able to lead them.

As Pop said, Victor and the team must grow together. They must do it at about the same pace for Spurs to be successful.

Bro, they have 10 wins! They’re probably not sniffing 20 wins this year. They don’t need to be a contender, but they do need to be competent. There is no benefit to victor playing dysfunctional basketball.

[TD 21]

At this notion that as Wembanyama presumably graduates throughout the various tiers (top starter to All-Star to All-NBA to MVP), they'll wave a magic wand, sprinkle some pixie dust and go from borderline historically bad to championship contender overnight.

I guess that's why they need to horde the 37 assets for the 3 quarters of a rotation they'll be incorporating in one fell swoop.

Heaven forbid they spare a few now on a player who'll have strong resale value.

[manufan10]

In yesterday's french newspaper L'Equipe , there was an interesting Pop interview. It was done just before the game against Washington on January 29th.



Spurs' strategy draws a lot of comments from those who believe or wish that Spurs were already a top team. How do you react to theses crticism and what is your plan?
You know, people's opinions... They don't know, they don't understand. When they see us drafting someone like Victor, everybody know he is talented. But it's not just about talent. Michael Jordan's first le arrived in his seventh year in the NBA. Nikola Jokic has just won his first ring and it took him eight years. We have the right to hope that things will go faster with Victor, but we can't skip steps. It takes time to shape a team. If it were that easy, you would have a different champion every year. These last twenty years, we find the same franchises at the top. Our cycle of success lasted a long time, it stretched over three decades. But there is a time when you have to start from scratch again. We are at that time.

Do you see any similarities between what you are doing and what OKC has done?
We do exactly the same thing. Sam (Presti) has been great but it took him some years to get to that point. They had many draft picks and are starting to get the benefits from them. We must have the same patience,pick the right players. We are in this process of adding pieces to the puzzle. Some of these pieces will stay forever with Victor. We will also have to use well all the draft picks we have ac ulated these last years. But nothing should be rushed. The ones that things should move faster or that don't understand we aren't winning all games.. it says more about them than about basketball.


You said you were in "observation mode" with Wembanayama. What conclusions do you draw about him after half a season especially after moving him to the center spot?
He plays center sometimes, and a lot of people consider him a center because he is the tallest on the floor, but nowadays there is no longer traditional PG or C. Everything is switchable. You will see sometimes Victor isolated on a wing, sometimes in the low block, sometimes in an axial pick and roll. He will be sometimes the ball handler or bring up the ball after a rebound. He does everything, which is exactly what I expect from him. He wants that too and has the skills to do so. This "observation time" was necessary. We didn't know him well enough. Highlights videos are not enough. It took twenty, thirty matches to see where he was comfortable and what was the obvious things to fix. He had to adapt to the roughness of the game, because he had a target on his back and everybody wanted to get physical with him. He had a tendency to dribble in crowded areas, because he's good ball handler, and had a lot of turnovers like that. He quickly understood that he had to dribble less to counter the speed and athleticism of the opponents. Sometimes he is close to the 3 point line on the defensive end, we try to work on ways to have him closer to the ring. He is also discovering his opponents. His career is just at a very early stage. We're working on his 3 point shot, shot selection and consistency. All of that will take time.

Could you have speed up the process by adding one or two veterans?
We decided not do that for two reasons. First, to keep the powder dry, that is to say waiting before spending some money to keep our financial flexibility. Once the core will be set, it will be important to add some free agents. Add a vet this year won't have help us to win the le. It would have been a waste of money and, more importantly, a waste of playing time that we must use to develop other players around Victor. Just look at Devin Vassell, he is becoming great and wasn't at that level when we got him. He gained confidence, BBIQ and has raise his defensive level. Adding a vet would have slow down that process for him and other players. I want to have that core growing and that Victor grows with them.

These quotes go against what Pop said in his opening press conference to start the season. He's gaslighting us into thinking that this was the plan all season. At around the 11 minute mark of his media day he gets asked about winning. He starts of by saying, "It's inherrently obvious that we want to win." "Development is great... adding a player of Victor's ability makes your prospects look better." "This year with development... the important factor to enhance that development is winning. Winning is as important this year as learning was in the past. They need to continue to learnand to add more wins.... it's mandatory... and helpful."

No one was expecting the Spurs to win a le this season. Or even compete for the playoffs. Fans were led to believe that winning was the most important factor here. Last season was supposed to be about development and this year about winning. That has definitely not been the case. Even the first quote about it being inherrently obvious that they want to win. You don't do that by playing a player out of position for a quarter of the season. Fans have the right to be upset and question the direction of the team when your head coach has deviated from what was expressed at the onset of the season.

[gambit1990]

As Pop said, Victor and the team must grow together. They must do it at about the same pace for Spurs to be successful.

the problem is this isn't a team that will go anywhere.

this team will have to go through a lot of iterations before victor and the team can grow together.

hopefully their next draft pick works out.

but even then it's just more waiting for wemby.

hopefully the spurs intend on snagging an all-star.

because nba stars are obviously moving more often then ever before. victor is such a great prospect, i truly think a little rushing really won't hurt.

[Bruno]

Bro, they have 10 wins! They’re probably not sniffing 20 wins this year. They don’t need to be a contender, but they do need to be competent. There is no benefit to victor playing dysfunctional basketball.

The benefit is to get a top 6 draft pick.

I'm not a fan at all of Spurs/Pop tanking this season (with things like the Sochan at PG experiment) but this "plan" has this edge.