Popovich back on the court
Coach returns after an absence of three months
LAS VEGAS — Spending his retirement in Hawaii buying and selling real estate, hosting a weekly celebrity poker game and dabbling in horticultural interests that include growing his own medical marijuana, NBA coaching great Don Nelson calls his life a good one.
And it got even better last week when Gregg Popovich indicated he could coach the Spurs into the next decade.
“I want him to, because I want him to get that record I’ve got,” said Nelson, the NBA’s career leader in wins with 1,335.
“I want it to be Pop’s record. I can’t wait for him to pass me. It would be great.”
For now, though, Nelson is happy just to see his friend and former assistant with the Golden State Warriors back on the court again after the death of his wife, Erin, in April.
As head coach of Team USA, Popovich will oversee practices Thursday and Friday at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center for players vying to make the national team he will guide at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China and the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. Leonard a no-show
Former Spurs star Kawhi Leonard reportedly will skip the workouts to focus on his transition to the Toronto Raptors.
While the chance to see the discontented forward reunited with Popovich after last season’s drama made the minicamp intriguing, the coach’s inner circle prefers to focus on this week being a significant step in their friend’s recovery from his loss.
“It’s been difficult,” Popovich said of the past three months at a press conference last week.
The minicamp will mark the first time Popovich, 69, has returned to the court to run a team since Erin passed away on April 18 after battling illnesses for an extended period.
With the Spurs down 0-2 in their first-round playoff matchup with the Warriors, Popovich turned over the reins to assistant Ettore Messina for the remainder of what turned out to be a fivegame series.
That he’s back in his natural element is a relief to his many friends.
“Basketball is his life, especially now,” Nelson said. “After losing his wife, I think it’s important for him to stay busy. I think this (minicamp) is a perfect scenario.”
While Leonard won’t be in Las Vegas, DeMar DeRozan is expected to be on hand for his first workout under Popovich since the Spurs acquired the fourtime All-Star guard in the bombshell Leonard deal.
DeRozan was a member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’ve always been a fan of Pop,” he told ESPN this week. “There was just something about him from the way he ran his team, the way he coached, his credibility.
“Everything that stands out about Pop, you just have to love. So to have this opportunity to play for a legendary coach at this point in my career, I think it’s one of the blessings in disguise (about the trade).”
DeRozan also promised to play this season with a chip on his shoulder.
“This time around, I think it’s going to be hell for a lot of people. No question,” DeRozan said. “I’m going to start from the bottom, to show why I’ve been the player I’ve been. But this time, with a whole different level of ‘I don’t care about nothing else.’ ”
Popovich takes over the national team from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who guided the U.S. to three Olympic gold medals and two world championships.
“It’s quite the thought when you think about being on the court with all these players,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted Popovich as saying of the 30-plus man contingent he will oversee this week. “That’s quite a brotherhood. There’s a lot of talent there.”
For Popovich, the longest-tenured active coach in North American pro sports after 22 seasons at the helm of the Spurs, guiding the Olympic team is a dream come true.
“I know how much Pop values this opportunity and how much respect he has for what Coach K and (managing director of USA Basketball’s men’s team) Jerry Colangelo have built over the past decade-plus,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. “I know how honored he is to have this opportunity, how much excitement he feels but also the responsibility he faces.” Double duty ahead
Some NBA observers have speculated Popovich could retire after next season to focus on preparing for the Olympics, a move that would coincide with the end of the five-year contract he signed in summer 2014.
But Buford and Nelson weren’t surprised to hear Popovich say last week he didn’t necessarily see any problems with running the Spurs and Team USA at the same time.
“Those are two separate things,” said Popovich, who needs 139 more wins to surpass Nelson. “It’s humbling to coach that (Olympic) team. It doesn’t preclude me from doing what I do with the Spurs.”
Buford and Nelson agreed.
“He manages himself and his commitment and responsibilities incredibly well,” Buford said.
Nelson said it was “laughable” to think Popovich couldn’t handle both jobs.
“He’s ready every day he wakes up,” Nelson said. “That’s his personality. He’s ready for anything. He’s the most remarkable human being I have been around in my lifetime. He’s just got the whole package.”
After Las Vegas, Popovich will be off to Serbia to help coach European youngsters in the 17th edition of Basketball Without Borders Aug. 15-18 in Belgrade. When he returns home, he’ll begin preparations for Spurs training camp, which likely will start in late September.
With so many new faces after the departures of Leonard, Tony Parker, Danny Green and Kyle Anderson, Popovich and his staff will have plenty of work to do integrating a squad that will include newcomers DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, Dante Cunningham, Marco Belinelli and rookie Lonnie Walker IV.
“All the new players are going to never go home,” Popovich joked. “They’re going to be in the gym. It’s going to be like torture. They’re going to be watching film 24 hours a day, thinking basketball over and over again.”
All kidding aside, Popovich made it clear he looks forward to the challenge.
“Each season is a different mosaic,” he said. “It’s always exciting and fun to put it together and go to training camp and see who develops, who starts to fit with whom on the court. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve won a championship the year before or not. You go right back to work and put it together again. That’s what this is all about, being consistent and persistent in what we do.”
Whatever the future holds for Popovich, Nelson is confident his friend will continue to be successful.
“He’s the best coach in the world,” Nelson said. “You can put him against anybody. He does that job better than anyone I have ever seen.”