Good interview and the plan was clear from the beginning
Still doesn’t explain the lack of point guard for the first half of the season.
Speaking for OKC, we don't have Sam Presti to draft us a Manu or Tony, we have Wright who can't draft for . I'm surprised that the Spurs didn't let Pop go after he sat on his laurels and wasted the post-nephew years but i guess the owners aren't all that involved, they just cash the checks. Will Pop retire after Wemby leaves?
Basically saying the rockets are re ed
"we like to keep our powder dry."
* Signs scrub Zollins to $18 million a year for 2 years
---
Someone should ask:
"Why were you so determined to not give Vic a point guard that you started games with Osman and Branham instead of Jones?"
Another thing to remember with these interviews ... Pop is a gaslighter. People see him string words together without a lot of snark or political rambling and think he's actually giving them something.
Same guy who repeatedly lied and would talk about Splitter's rookie year after the fact and say things like "Tiago was injured all year" which was bull because he was available most of the year getting dnp-cds and garbage time minutes.
But it was pops excuse to just lie about it, and nobody in the media ever challenged him on it, and it's been a running gag for a decade.
Ha, I know. I never expected this team to be anything other than a lottery team and I'd be surprised if they were even a play in team next year. I just had to say the Tim Duncan thing. Of course, with the assets the Spurs have, they could go build a team quickly if they wanted. Would that be the best long term solution? Probably not. If they want sustained success, they probably want to find a young core, not build an older core that will win now, but decline right when Wemby becomes a free agent. But it had to be said given the other examples he gave, even though I actually agree with the process the Spurs have taken and like Sochan and Vassell long term despite what posters say here.
I mean some of these things are just false. But atleast he is explaining himself. Like the teaching the fundamentals. KJ is in his 5th ing year. How long do fundamentals take to learn? He still makes the same stupid mistakes on offense and defense that he did as a rookie. It’s not me that doesn’t understand basketball (which I agree Pop knows more than me obviously) but KJ as well.
I think Pop overestimated himself which is what I said in the beginning of the year. He thought he could teach everything to everyone on the team and buddy it just doesn’t work that way. Pop is a teacher, but he can’t be the ONLY teacher on the whole damn team. That’s just stupid. It’s why we need good assistant coaches (which we don’t have). It’s why we needed a vet on a short term deal. Which we could’ve gotten but didn’t. Chris Paul was on a one year deal. That’s it. Pop was too egotistical this year and it shows.
He wanted to teach Sochan how to play PG. But couldn’t do that and teach Vassell how to play defense and teach KJ how to contribute and teach Branham how to play and teach etc etc etc. He needed real help. And he did himself a disservice by not getting any help. Imagine if Sochan learned how to play PG from Chris Paul. Paul could actually mentor him and take away one of the jobs from Pop. He could teach him things that even Pop doesn’t know. And Wemby would transition a lot faster as well.
30 games to figure out Wemby is fine. But hard to do while playing him 25 minutes a game. Hard to do while not setting him up at all the first month of playing. And really hard to do when you don’t set the tone of who the offense goes through. It gets people like Vassell to think he is a star and should be taking the same amount of attempts at Wemby. He shouldn’t. I wanted actual structure for the team this year. It’s something that Pop has always had. And this year he said structure, I’m going to do everything myself and whelp this is the results. We suck and a team that for 4 years is used to losing is now still used to losing and hasn’t learned to win yet. Next year will be year 5 for them not to learn how to win yet. Are they allowed to learn that? Or will every year be they have to learn to win and we need to be patient? Bc next year we better be in the ing play in at minimum
In fairness, the Rockets don't have their own pick, so no reason to tank this year and I'm glad they want to be compe ive so they don't hand the Thunder another lottery pick. We don't need to make the Thunder an unstoppable powerhouse.
And they are. If they’d have tanked one more year, they’d have had a good chance to keep their 1-4 protected pick that will convert to seconds if not conveyed this year. Instead, they’re handing over a late lottery pick to OKC.
some thoughts:
- i dont' see why some people take from this interview that the FO want to build from the draft. He clearly mentionned free agents. I think all options will be used: draft, trades and free agents signing. As it should be.
- he already said these things in the USA. But i agree, as lame as some medias can be, i've always found that Pop's reluctance to give some real answers to legitimate questions was annoying. Fans are here to support and pay tickets: they deserve this kind of informations from the FO.
- don't be wrong: French medias are also terrible. But Basketball isn't the main sport here, there is less casual fans and the medias are more interested in real topics and less about buzz and polemics. But in soccer, the main sport here, it is even worse than in USA with the NBA: only controversies and gossip.
- i agree that Pop talks like if Victor won't ever even think about leaving. In a way, that's great that he talks like if Victor is supposed to be the face of the franchise for a long time, that's the way it should be. And Victor doesn't seem to be a diva, he seems reasonnable.
But even Duncan was close to leave. I think that next year, the team should already be improving and compe ive, and, by the end of Victor's rookie contract, contending or on a clear path to do so . Otherwise, Victor could choose to go elsewhere.
Great interview. I saw it but didn't have full access. Thanks Bruno
KJ was a #29 overall pick, and has far exceeded his draft position expectations. Were you expecting an All Star?
For a coach, Pop is very old, and so I have to imagine for him doing a 20 game experiment with Jeremy at point guard is like a blink of an eye.
As for the trade part of the interview, it seems to me major trades are done and it's all about drafting now. It does seem weird that he wants a super young team without even low cost veterans, but maybe he sees himself as the veteran to do all the teaching. Not sure.
wtf bro, not sure where did you ing live in your life but French media are quite ok compared to the rest of the world. English media are simply atrocious, Spanish ones are terrible, Italian are not that much of an upgrade and don't get me started with Brazilian ones... even german media loves drama and invents bs all the time
Also France isn't a sport country ?
Nope just expected him to learn how to play defense by now. You know on a fundamental level. Since Pop is teaching them fundamentals for 5 years. I thought I should see some results. But that’s just me apparently.
Perfect illustration of Scott's post.
Be really bad (again) so you can get another underwhelming lottery pick with a role-player ceiling and teach them how to get used to losing? that. This year's draft is a crapshoot anyway.
How about next year? The ceiling is probably 9 or 10 seed. Should we try to win or should we tank again and try for another top 10 pick?
Then maybe in 2026 we'll have top-8 seed potential (which isn't a Championship level, so might as well tank for a lottery pick.)
The great teams have never operated this way. We're taking it on faith that a coach who has never built a Championship team from the bottom can do it, based on the model of another team that hasn't won a Championship with that model either.
Regarding the interview, there is no big surprise if you follow closely what's going on around the Spurs.
He is right about the fact that nothing should be rushed... and the big picture of what is being done is quite good. Priority number one was to preserve Victor health, getting him acclimated to the NBA and improve his game. About the vet topic now, I understand the logic of course, wants PT for the young guys and despite the losses there are some bright spots, Tre is a quite decent pg tbh, sochan is actually having good games recently...
I believe this is fine for the first year but I think a solid vet would be great to help this team grow tbh fwiw
guy who doesnt understand the purpose of forums and discussion
The Spurs MO in the past with free agents Aldridge notwithstanding, has been more role players than big splash stars. Granted this young team is different from the dynasty team but that is what my expectation is.
yeah, in order to cope with the fact that the spurs are tanking this year (after months of him denying that the spurs were, in fact, tanking), he has convinced himself that there is no middle ground between tanking and championship contention
The Patient Tao of Pop, as laid out here, works for him because it sounds nice but offers no actual accountability. When you're only message is patience, you can simply dismiss any criticism based on one's own failure as a lack of patience.
"Yes, we've missed the playoffs for 17 consecutive years, but we have a plan... you just need to be patient."
And of course, there are people who eat it right up. Take exstatic for instance, who before the season started believed the tank was over and that we would begin our upward ascent now that Wemby was on board (and Pop talked about winning). But, but ex's own words, it took about 10 games before he realized we are tanking again, and he's on board. exstatic has also said on this message board that this is the last year of tanking, this summer we will make some roster changes, and next year we will start winning. But if we start the season 5-15, I'm sure ex will be back here telling us that it's another tank year, because why wouldn't it be? It's the Cooper Flagg draft! The patience mantra gives you unlimited rope... you just need to be patient.
This isn't to pick on exstatic. He is just an example. But this patience talk is just a way of skirting accountability when you're plans are marginal or maybe you don't have a plan at all. It's just like The Process, of which we have one of the chief prac ioners sitting on our bench. "Just Trust the Process...." You'll note, that Philly only started turning things around after they rid themselves of Hinke and Brown. Maybe one day Pop will leave us with a nice 7000-word resignation letter too.
and how much better are the 3-5 picks doing then the 10-12s the last 5 years?
I'm sincerely asking.
Haliburton, Kwa Leonard, Greek Freek, Joker, GNob, Parker.
#1 and #2 sure as should be better.
But we should take a look at how much better or not the 3-5s have been before we endorse cointinuing what Pop does Post Duncan Post Kwa - lose.
Haha, didn't see this one. The Sniff Crew already lining up to inhale deeply and fondly.
Indeed, this is the exact manifestation of cope that arises from a culture without any accountability.
The next post I'm sure will talk about how Philly hasn't won anything, so they should have just kept with the Process because the result would be the same zero rings.
The "all or nothing" argument is just another coping mechanism that loser fans use to comfort themselves over their loser teams. As if there is no utility in being compe ive, from a deep playoff run, from growth, from saving your fans from 82 games of misery. "You're either first or your last" ignores the two most fundamental facts about the NBA and it's teams: 1) it's entertainment 2) it's a business. A NBA championship isn't the pinnacle of success, but there is significant entertainment and business value to be had in the gulf between NBA Champ and Poverty Franchise.
It was definitely the ugly as shot. Clearly teams miscalculated, even as his shot still looks funky
dp
BS. Coach saw an opportunity to glorify himself even more by coaching the next great big man and took the money to stay because the FO was dumb enough to offer itWhat convinced you to re-sign with Spurs for five more years?
There are personal reasons that I will keep for myself. But professionally, I take a lot of fun with these young people. They are all so talented, while being so raw. Some of them are just barely out from high school. A lot of them are now just going to university for one year before going pro. Their coaches don't have enough time to teach them discipline and fundamentals. This the most gratifying part of my work: be able to develop young people like Victor and be sure that they start their career on the right path. When we played the le every year, my job was radically different. It was a precision work: making the right decision at the right time, drawing the right system, doing the right subs ution, analyzing plays. It is now back to the teaching: shooting drills, video sessions to teach them good habits, rigor and consistency in their work ethic. Sometimes, it's fun to do, sometimes I'm going after one of them (laugh). There is however one sure thing, I'm happy with doing that.
Cop out answer. "B-b-but MJ didn't win right away!" bro we're not asking to assemble a championship roster day one, we just want to see improvement. the entire team took a big ing step back this season, it's not unreasonable at all to expect a 22 win team to improve after drafting a player of Victor's caliberSpurs' 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.
OKC was complete trash for 2 years but some of that was obvious intentional tanking. They also traded for their current star. Spurs are already 5 years into sucking ass and have done jack other than trade for some picks from ATL and completely luck into winning the lottery. OKC was much more aggressive in trying to make moves so that when their star emerged, they had some talent around him. Spurs have not done exactly the same thing at allDo 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.
basically admitting that Tim was the reason for all of the spurs success, which we already knew
Spurs are well under the salary cap, have 30 draft picks in the next seven years and have made more trades in the past two years (Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, DeMar DeRozan) than during the previous twenty years. Is it that your plan?
It shows that our front office around Brian Wright and RC Buford has made a good job in financial and strategic terms. We are eager to get benefits from that. It's true we were lazy trade wise(laugh). Out program was in autopilot mode with Tony, Tim and Manu. We only did small tweaks. What is great with Victor is that he has an at ude and personality like Duncan. You can easily coach him, while often, young players think they know everything. He has some confidence on his abilities, but he is ready to learn and listen, deal with both the positive and the negative. Your best players must be treated like the other ones or else it can't work.
more BS. we know the Spurs have been monitoring Victor for years now. i 100% do not believe Pop had never seen him play prior to this season. and wtf does not giving him a PG for half the season have to do with "observing" him? like what purpose did this serve? it doesnt take 30 ing games to realize he is best played at C with an actual PG. more excuses for trying to be too cuteYou 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."financial flexibility" but re-signs Collins to a terrible deal while undeservedly making Vassell the highest paid Spurs player in history for his 18ppg. give me a break
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