"It would be very difficult to bring Jack back into the mix now," Popovich said. "We had conversations (with Jackson). I told him we wanted him back and he said he wanted to be back. But apparently he got some different advice somewhere else.
"But we made it very clear to him and his agent (Dan Fegan) that we would go in another direction if we couldn't get some negotiations started.
"We couldn't let this go to September or October and be held hostage then if there were no other opportunities out there. Overpaying a player never works."