Audio: Gregg Popovich On Spurs' offseason, David Robinson

[duncan228]

Edit: For anyone that can't listen to Pop, McDonald's bullets are in post #20.

Hit the link to hear them.

Audio: Gregg Popovich on Spurs' offseason, David Robinson
By Joe Alexander

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich met with members of the local media Tuesday at the Spurs practice facility for a question-and-answer session.

Popovich talked about the Spurs' offseason moves, including the trade for Richard Jefferson and the signing of Antonio McDyess.

He also talked about Spurs legend David Robinson, who is being inducted into the basketball hall of fame.

Audio: Gregg Popovich on Spurs' offseason moves

Audio: Gregg Popovich on David Robinson

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblog...gregg-pop.html

[tmtcsc]

Thanks for posting this. I just wrote a recap of what I heard from Pop.

[urunobili]

RJ is Jax without the heavy drama!!

[DPG21920]

Pop also said that even though there was a trade, free agency signings and a successful draft that there were still a few spots players had to fight for. He mentioned by name:

James Gist
Malik Hairston
Jack McClinton
Marcus Williams

[DPG21920]

Pop also said they were discussing Tim/Dice/Finley sitting out back to backs throughout they year. Nothing definitive yet, but something they like to do with the older players.

[Spurs Brazil]

Thanks for the links

very good interview. Pop said great things about RJ

What Pop said about TD knees made me happy. It looks like TD is doing really well

[Brazil]

nice interview, I missed some parts due to the poor quality of the sound, if someone can make a sum-up it would be great.

[DPG21920]

nice interview, I missed some parts due to the poor quality of the sound, if someone can make a sum-up it would be great.

Pop also said that even though there was a trade, free agency signings and a successful draft that there were still a few spots players had to fight for. He mentioned by name:

James Gist
Malik Hairston
Jack McClinton
Marcus Williams

Pop also said they were discussing Tim/Dice/Finley sitting out back to backs throughout they year. Nothing definitive yet, but something they like to do with the older players.

Did anyone else catch the Pop interview today at the Spurs practice facility ?

He seemed relaxed and excited about the look of the team and about the prognosis on Tim's condition, Manu's health and Tony.

He said Tim's in great shape and the knee looks solid and more flexible than it ever has.

He also said that Tony's injury was very, very minor. He didn't go in to why they thought he should come back to SA to get a check up from their doctors.

He also mentioned that Manu is not playing compe ive basketball but rather doing a lot of resting, walking and light jogging.

He figures that they are going to bring all the older guys along slowly during the preseason as opposed to previous years.

He is thrilled about adding RJ to the mix and described him as Stephen Jackson without all the drama. He added that SJ is still one of his favorite people.

That's all I heard.

[Bruno]

Nice to hear Pop.
I damn like the news on the Duncan front.

[Bruno]

And we can pencil Gist and McClinton as training camp invites.
It won't be easy for them to get a spot (especially for Gist) but good luck to them.

[Brazil]

Thanks DPG !

[dbestpro]

1. Marcus Williams
2. Malik Hairston
3. James Gist
4. Jack McClinton

Because Marcus can also play PG, SG and SF I say a roster spot is his to lose due to his versatility.
Hairston can over take Marcus quite easily if Marcus does not show up and Hairston shows some hard nose D.
Gist is going to have to play lights out. I think he will see another year in Europe.
Jack will not be back this year. I expect he will get the Gist treatment and sign a 1 year over seas.

[alamo50]

Pop show, Pop show, Pop show!!!

[Muser]

I really want Malik to have a good camp, I want him on the team.

[nkdlunch]

1. Marcus Williams
2. Malik Hairston
3. James Gist
4. Jack McClinton

Because Marcus can also play PG, SG and SF I say a roster spot is his to lose due to his versatility.
Hairston can over take Marcus quite easily if Marcus does not show up and Hairston shows some hard nose D.
Gist is going to have to play lights out. I think he will see another year in Europe.
Jack will not be back this year. I expect he will get the Gist treatment and sign a 1 year over seas.

agree with everything except hairston already made the team IMO .#1

[Dr Cox]

i dont see how hairston wont be on the team...i think he is the one who makes it

[rayray2k8]

Hairston will make the team, Jack McClinton will be in Austin, Gist will have to stay overseas again and i could care less what happens to Williams.

[Taking it to the Hole]

McClintock!!! That is classic Pop.

[silverblackfan]

I think Hairston will make the team. McClinton & Gist will to the Toros training with occasional call ups for extra pay. I am hoping Williams has a good camp and can fix that 3rd string pg gap.

[duncan228]

Edit: Updated.

Popovich gives update on Spurs
By Jeff McDonald

Coach Gregg Popovich held an informal fat-chewing session with reporters Tuesday at the Spurs' Northwest-side headquarters to discuss the state of the team coming out of the offseason.

Here are some bullet points:

* Popovich said he is not worried about the health of All-Star point guard Tony Parker, who sprained his right ankle while playing for the French national team last month. Parker has since returned to Les Bleus, and is expected to play in the Eurobasket championships next month in Poland.

"He's probably not 100 percent, strength-wise, but he's healthy," Popovich said. "His injury really was minor."

* Manu Ginobili, who missed much of last season and all of the playoffs with nagging ankle and leg injuries, is recovering as expected at home in Argentina and should be good to go by the start of camp.

"He's taking walks, going out on a run, getting on a treadmill here and there," Popovich said. "But nothing compe ive. No starting or stopping or anything like that. He'll come back out of shape, but healthy."

* Likewise, the team has asked Tim Duncan to take it easy this summer as well. Coming off a season in which he battled quad tendonosis in his right knee, the 33-year-old Duncan has postponed his usual summertime routine.

Typically, Duncan would begin heavy lifting and conditioning work at the beginning of August. This summer, the Spurs have bumped that back until Aug. 31.

In the meantime, Duncan has shed 15 pounds, down to 240, which should also help ease the workload on his balky knees.

"His body is in the best shape it's been in a while," Popovich said.

* Unlike most of the players who have manned the small forward position for the Spurs recently, Popovich envisions the 6-foot-7 Richard Jefferson to be more than just a spot-up shooter.

"Since Sean Elliott, he's going to be the first wing man we've had where you can post him up," Popovich said. "You haven't seen us post up smalls or wings in a long time. Now we can do that. It adds another element to our team offensively."

* Popovich is happy with the progress he's seen from third-year center Ian Mahinmi this summer. He'd just like to see more of him.

After putting up a performance at the Las Vegas summer league that Popovich termed "not great, but good," Mahinmi is playing with Parker for the French national team this fall.

"That's the best thing he can do right now, to play with (Ronny) Turiaf and the rest of the boys there," Popovich said. "I'm as excited about seeing him in training camp as anybody else, just because I'd like to see what we have in Ian Mahinmi."

The team has until Oct. 31 to exercise its contractual option on Mahinmi for 2010-2011.

* Expectations run high among Spurs faithful for rookie DeJuan Blair, the rebounding machine from Pittsburgh who fell to No. 37 overall in the June draft amid concerns about his surgically repaired knees.

Though Blair will probably offer a better immediate return than most second-round selections, Popovich is urging caution. Blair, after all, is still just a rookie.

"It's going to be a different game for him," Popovich said. "A lot of things that came easy for him, with his skill and effort, are going to be a little bit more difficult for him in the NBA. Guys are going to be a little bigger than he's used to."

[Bruno]

BTW, if Pop envisages to sit Finley for the second games of b2b, it likely means that he plans on giving him a significant amount of playing time.
Hairston, WIlliams or McClinton will have a damn hard time making the regular rotation.

[ulosturedge]

Hairston will make the team, Jack McClinton will be in Austin, Gist will have to stay overseas again and i could care less what happens to Williams.

I agree with this statement.

[Blackjack]

BTW, if Pop envisages to sit Finley for the second games of b2b, it likely means that he plans on giving him a significant amount of playing time.

Hairston, WIlliams or McClinton will have a damn hard time making the regular rotation.

There was a lot of encouraging things to take from the interview, most notably the health of the Big 3, but that statement was a bit of an eye-opener for me too.

Giving Finley the second night of a back-to-back off would seem to mean he'd be playing significant enough minutes to warrant such caution.

Finley needs to be playing Steve Smith to RJ's Jackson of '03, so hopefully this is nothing more than the type of mindset he held prior to Jack's emergence that year..

One can only hope.

[DPG21920]

I think he was just lumping him in with "the old" group. I don't see the minutes there for him, at least not more than last year.

Didn't he sit him out against Denver last year?

[Mark in Austin]

No mention of Marcus Haislip? Obviously Pop doesn't surf youtube.