More Rumors in this Storyline

2 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

As we’ve been reporting here since March, San Antonio and the Lakers are believed to have interest in Snyder should he become available. In the Lakers’ case, actually, it has zoomed well past belief. There would certainly be other teams as well if Snyder became a coaching free agent despite Utah’s string of painful playoff endings after regular-season excellence.

3 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Gregg Popovich to return one more season?

I’ve nonetheless believed for much of the season, like some in Spurs circles closer to the situation than me, that Pop will return for at least one more season, because he still loves this job and needs to be in the gym. These Spurs are the youngest team he’s had since was coaching Division III college ball. And Pop loves teaching so, so much … even more than he detests in-game visits to his bench from sideline reporters.

3 months ago – via Twitter mikefinger

Mike Finger: Gregg Popovich, as usual, raves about how much he’s enjoyed this season, and expresses optimism about where group is headed. As to whether he’ll come back? “That question is inappropriate,” he said.

3 months ago – via Twitter KerithBurke

Kerith Burke: Kerr said it crossed his mind on the bus ride to the game that this might be the last time he coaches against Gregg Popovich, but “he hasn’t shared anything with me” about his future. “If he decides to keep going, I think it would be great. He’s still so good at it.”

3 months ago – via Twitter tom_orsborn

Tom Orsborn: Steve Kerr also had this to say about the 73-year-old Pop: “He loves it. He is so good at it. One of the reasons he is so good at it is that he loves it.”

3 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Lakers eyeing Quin Snyder to replace Frank Vogel?

As covered in my previous This Week In Basketball column, Snyder has been increasingly mentioned as a potential target for San Antonio to succeed Gregg Popovich. I’ve likewise heard Snyder’s name posed as a probable Los Angeles Lakers candidate should the Lakers and Frank Vogel part ways after what has been a nightmare season in Hollywood.

3 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

NBA coaching sources nonetheless insist that Utah has been unsuccessful in its attempts to extend Snyder’s contract further, leading to the belief that the coach tied for the league’s third-longest active coaching tenure alongside Golden State’s Steve Kerr might be more gettable than advertised.

3 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

One wise caution I recently received from a former Spur: The notion that Popovich could finish out this season with his future unclear and abruptly hand the reins in the offseason to a hand-picked successor like Snyder is feasible because it would enable Pop to avoid the dreaded scenario of announcing his last season and then subjecting himself to a farewell tour.

3 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

The playoffs should tell us a lot. Crashing through the second-round barrier that this team, with its Mitchell/Gobert core, has thus far been unable to breach would presumably hush at least some of the persistent chatter leaguewide that a roster overhaul is forthcoming.

4 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Gregg Popovich to coach one more season?

If you pressed me, I would (cautiously) stick with the idea that Popovich, who turned 73 in January, coaches the Spurs for at least one more season, knowing how much he still loves (and needs) to be in the gym. Yet I reserve the right to change that answer if Utah’s Quin Snyder becomes unexpectedly available. More and more, I hear Snyder’s name as a potential Pop successor that the Spurs would naturally relish. Snyder, of course, established himself in the NBA after his college years by coaching the Spurs’ G League team in Austin and is in Year 8 with a Jazz team trying to find a measure of playoff success befitting its consistently outstanding regular-season play under Snyder.

4 months ago – via Twitter TheNBACentral

Quin Snyder a candidate to replace Gregg Popovich as Spurs coach

NBA Central: Quin Snyder is a potential candidate to replace Gregg Popovich, per @Marc Stein “More and more, I hear Snyder’s name as a potential Pop successor that the Spurs would naturally relish.” (Via https://t.co/kX6Dg110S5) pic.twitter.com/2Na8FmIU2W

9 months ago – via Twitter Schultz_Report

Jordan Schultz: League sources say the #Spurs are preparing for Gregg Popovich’s retirement within the next 1-2 years. As he begins his 26th HC season, I’m told the organization has initiated an extensive search – both in-house and externally – into finding Pop’s replacement.

9 months ago – via Zach Lowe @ ESPN

Manu Ginobili considered a potential replacement for Gregg Popovich

The most common heir apparents mentioned in league and coaching circles today: Will Hardy, the longtime San Antonio assistant now working under Ime Udoka in Boston; Brett Brown; and Manu Ginobili, who rejoined San Antonio last week as an advisor. Becky Hammon will and should be in the mix along with mystery candidates and perhaps other members of the Spurs tree. Ginobili’s appetite for coaching is unclear. Bill Self, head coach of Kansas, has faded out of the rumor mill.

9 months ago – via Zach Lowe @ ESPN

No one is sure if Popovich will coach beyond this season, but several sources who know him cautioned in recent weeks that it would not surprise them if he returned for 2022-23. Popovich is 26 wins from Don Nelson’s all-time record, but he is not running out the string just to claim it.

10 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

After 25 seasons in charge, 22 trips to the playoffs and those five titles, Popovich will naturally leave his post how and whenever he chooses. He has earned that right. Chances are we won’t hear from him on any topic until training camp begins, but it’s fair to say — with less than 40 days until camps open leaguewide — that there is far more chatter circulating about the Spurs’ attempts to barge their way into the Ben Simmons trade sweepstakes than Pop’s future.

10 months ago – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Popovich is 26 wins shy of passing his dear friend Don Nelson for the most regular-season coaching victories in league history … and I’ve heard enough whispers to believe that he wants that milestone more than he would ever admit.

1 year ago – via Michael Scotto @ HoopsHype

Scotto on Will Hardy as an eventual Popovich replacement: I’ve heard some whispers on that from an executive or two around the league. This is a guy who has interviewed with the Knicks, Pacers, and the Thunder. He’s knocking on that door to be a head coach at some point in his career.

1 year ago – via Twitter mikefinger

Mike Finger: Our man @Tom Orsborn asks a looking-ahead question to Popovich, who’s having none of it. “Not gonna go there. The season just ended. We’ve got a lot of time for that.” Tom: “OK, I didn’t know if we were doing anything tomorrow.” Pop: “I don’t know what YOU’RE doing tomorrow.”

1 year ago – via Twitter tom_orsborn

Steve Kerr: Gregg Popovich is as sharp as ever

Tom Orsborn: Steve Kerr on if he could see Pop coaching beyond this season: “Sure. And I don’t think he’s made any decisions yet. But why not? He’s still sharp as ever. You can see the impact he still makes by watching his team.”

2 years ago – via Twitter TheSteinLine

Gregg Popovich not done?

Marc Stein: Gregg Popovich on coaching next year: “Why wouldn’t I?”

2 years ago – via David Aldridge and Sam Amick @ The Athletic

Popovich, who will head up Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, signed a three-year extension in April. But he’s widely believed to be taking a year-by-year approach to his late career at this point.

2 years ago – via David Aldridge and Sam Amick @ The Athletic

Popovich, who will head up Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, signed a three-year extension in April. But he’s widely believed to be taking a year-by-year approach to his late career at this point.

3 years ago – via Sam Amick and John Hollinger @ The Athletic

While the 70-year-old signed a three-year contract extension in April, he’s also widely known to be taking a year-by-year approach to this stage of his storied career. As of now, a source said Popovich has given no indication to the organization that he won’t be back next season. Yet whenever he steps away, whether it’s after he coaches Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this summer or sometime thereafter, there’s one name that continues to come up from league sources as a possible replacement: Bill Self, the longtime Kansas coach and close friend of Spurs general manager R.C. Buford.

3 years ago – via Sam Amick and John Hollinger @ The Athletic

Self has been best friends with Buford since their college days together at Oklahoma State, and the relationship has only strengthened from there. They worked together as assistants under Larry Brown at Kansas in the 1985-86 season, and this 2003 piece from KUSports.com even indicates that it was Buford who recommended Self to Brown in the first place.

3 years ago – via Sam Amick and John Hollinger @ The Athletic

A quick note as a backdrop here: A source with knowledge of the Spurs’ thinking is quick to make it clear that this monumental choice will be, first and foremost, about what’s best for the organization and not based solely on personal relationships. Still, it’s worth monitoring and chronicling the deep ties here. What’s more, there has been one potentially significant development since Self found himself addressing these rumors when they first surfaced back in April: His program is under investigation for NCAA violations, and all of a sudden it’s fair to wonder if now might be the perfect time for him to take on a new challenge. Again, of course, that’s all depending on Pop and what he wants to do.

3 years ago – via Twitter tom_orsborn

Tom Orsborn: Interesting comment from Pop: “It’s always different coming onto a court when the star (Dirk) that was basically the backbone of the franchise is gone. It sort of gives you pause and makes you understand how fortunate you are to still be there, I guess. Pretty soon I won’t be.”

3 years ago – via San Antonio Express-News

Robinson also said he was glad to hear that Gregg Popovich reportedly plans to return for a 24th season as the Spurs coach. Robinson said he remembers the uncertainty regarding Popovich’s future after his wife, Erin, died in April 2018. “I went to the funeral they had up at the Air Force Academy, and that’s tough, I don’t care who you are,” Robinson said. “Pop has always been a rock for this franchise and you almost never see him flinch. But I don’t care who you are, that’s a tough thing to go through, so you don’t know how people are going to react. But I think it’s been a great thing for him to coach. It’s been a new family for him. And I am happy that he is coming back. He is fantastic.”

3 years ago – via ESPN

Gregg Popovich to sign a three-year extension

Once Gregg Popovich formally commits to return for his 24th season as San Antonio Spurs coach, he’s expected to sign a three-year contract that will keep him as the highest paid coach in the NBA, league sources told ESPN.

3 years ago – via ESPN

A Popovich contract extension has been a foregone conclusion for months, but the deal won’t change the fact that he will continue taking his coaching future on a year-to-year basis, league sources said. Spurs ownership believes he’s entitled to manage his future how he wishes, sources said.

3 years ago – via ProjectSpurs.com

Gregg Popovich is currently negotiating a new deal to remain the coach of the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich met with the media for the final time this season on Monday afternoon and joked that he is currently in talks with three teams, the Spurs being one of them. “It’s three teams,” he said. “It’s one-third Portofino, one-third Positano, and one-third, San Antonio.”

3 years ago – via ESPN

Coach Gregg Popovich is negotiating a new deal with the San Antonio Spurs. The 70-year-old Popovich just finished his 23rd season with the Spurs. The team has made the playoffs in each of the past 22 seasons, a streak that ties for the longest in NBA history, and there was some speculation about whether he would return. He has won five NBA championships with San Antonio.

3 years ago – via Twitter mikefinger

Gregg Popovich likely back next season

Mike Finger: Gregg Popovich probably will be back next season. A Spurs staffer said late Saturday night he had “no doubt.” But after he coaches Team USA this summer, a flawed team awaits, and Popovich has a decision to make.

3 years ago – via USA Today Sports

Popovich was asked in a round-about way what his future as a head coach will be after this season. “I’m a head coach in the NBA,” Popovich responded. “I don’t think about what that means in the future.”

3 years ago – via San Antonio Express-News

Spurs general manager RC Buford declined to comment this week on whether his head coach has a standing offer to return, saying only that Popovich will speak on that subject when he thinks it’s appropriate.

3 years ago – via Twitter tom_orsborn

Tom Orsborn: Asked if he thinks Pop will return next season, Patty Mills said, “I hope so. Geesh, I haven’t even thought about that…Do I see any signs of him slowing down? Not at all.” #Spurs

3 years ago – via Twitter JabariJYoung

Jabari Young: This one from Popovich was pretty good… told he looks like he’s still enjoying himself coaching, he said “I am.” … maybe this will cool the retirement questions #Spurs @TheAthleticNBA

3 years ago – via Twitter anthonyVslater

Anthony Slater: Warriors vs Spurs tomorrow. Steve Kerr on Gregg Popovich’s future: “I don’t get the sense he’s anywhere close to stepping down. But then again, I haven’t asked him.” Then Kerr went long on the current version of the Spurs. pic.twitter.com/NIJew5Wbly

3 years ago – via New York Times

Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs will soon become the fourth 70-year-old coach in N.B.A. history, but he remains undecided about coaching the Spurs beyond this season. Popovich, who turns 70 on Jan. 28, is in the last season of a five-year contract extension he signed after the Spurs won their most recent championship in 2014.

3 years ago – via New York Times

“I don’t know the answer,” Popovich said when asked about his plans for next season in an interview Wednesday night after the Spurs’ 105-101 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Popovich said he and R.C. Buford, San Antonio’s longtime team president, have periodically discussed the club’s various options after this season. “He’ll coach as long as he wants to coach,” Buford said.

4 years ago – via The Ringer

At Staples Center last week, there was a pregame conversation among some of my fellow media members about whether Popovich is still enjoying himself. There was even a suggestion that he’s mellowed over the past few seasons. His once infamous in-game interviews have seemed a bit blander and straighter of late—but, mercifully, that doesn’t mean he’s lost his lovable edge entirely. After the Spurs fell to the Lakers later that evening, someone asked Popovich what made LeBron James so hard to stop in the fourth quarter.

4 years ago – via Twitter mikefinger

Mike Finger: Pop is asked if this might be his last season. “Anything might happen. I might coach 10 more years or I might quit in a month.”

4 years ago – via San Antonio Express-News

Asked if the most trying personal season of his coaching career ever made him question whether he wanted to return for another go-round in 2018-19, Popovich — who will turn 70 in December — was succinct in his answer. “No,” he said.

4 years ago – via Pounding the Rock

Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express News made the point to Pop that people care about how long he’s going to be on the sidelines, which Pop dismissed coyly as, “bologna:” You get to a certain age and everyone goes, “How long are you gonna do this?” Well, how long are you going to be doing what you’re doing? When I can’t do it anymore, or don’t wanna do it, or people don’t wanna do it with me, then I’ll stop doing it.

4 years ago – via ESPN

Few in his orbit expect Popovich to coach the Spurs beyond the 2020 Summer Olympics, and there always has been the possibility that he could spend the 2019-20 season traveling around the NBA and across the globe, preparing for his national team duties. Perhaps Popovich can have Leonard on Team USA in 2020, too, but that’s a conversation for a different day.

4 years ago – via San Antonio Express-News

“It’s just that we’re all so prejudiced, it’s ridiculous,” Popovich said. “We think we’re the ones getting screwed all the time. The referees cannot win. I don’t care what happens. They will never win. Everyone is always going to bitch and moan about them, so it’s best to just play the game and don’t cry about it and move on. You never gain anything.”

6 years ago – via Twitter melissarohlin

Melissa Rohlin: Gregg Popovich said the reason he didn’t retire as he said he would when Duncan stepped down was because he made “promises to people.”