San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is thinking of retirement according to sports columnist Peter Vecsey. Hard to imagine? Yes. But, you can’t be in a coaching job forever.
Pop was almost giddy in defeat. Relieved his coaching days are over? Heard from 2 forward observers he is seriously considering retirement
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) May 3, 2015
Popovich was relaxed after he watched his side lose to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 in the early hours of Sunday morning.
And it showed in the post-game presser.
“In this situation, either one of us goes to Houston or one of us goes on vacation,” he told the LA Times. “We’d each rather go to Houston, but vacation’s not terrible. A lot of people have it a whole lot tougher than us. If those are your two choices in life, you should shut up and live.”
OTHERS CONSIDERING RETIREMENT?
Spurs veterans Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are unsure what there plans are for next season following their opening round loss to the Clippers.
While Duncan was vintage throughout the seven games, Ginobili looked off the pace and a shadow of the player he was in years gone by.
Via Yahoo! Sports:
“I’m not making any statements,” Duncan said after the season-ending 111-109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Said Ginobili: “It’s not a topic to talk about. It’s too soon.”
Whenever he decides to retire, Duncan will leave as the greatest Spurs player of all time and also the greatest power forward the NBA has ever known. He is now 39 and admitted this week he sees “the light at the end of the tunnel.” But he’s also still playing at an elite level: He totaled 27 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes in Game 7, his fourth game of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the series.
Duncan was an All-Star this season, but also has nothing more to prove with five championship rings. A certain first-ballot Hall-of-Fame induction awaits him after retirement.
“It’s a little too early to think about that,” Duncan said of the possibility he might retire.
While Duncan is playing at a high level, Ginobili has often looked every bit his 37 years of age this season. He averaged 10.5 points on 42.6 percent shooting from the field this season in 22.7 minutes per game. He hasn’t had a scoring average so low since his rookie season when he averaged 7.6 points. He averaged eight points off the bench in the series against the Clippers.
While Ginobili is still good enough to play in the NBA, his role has diminished. He acknowledged Game 7 might have been his last game.
“It could happen,” Ginobili said. “I still don’t know. I don’t want to make a decision after being a disappointment in a game like this. So I’ll have a lot of time. I will sit with my family and try to evaluate what happened during the season, how I feel and if I am ready to go at it again. I guess the Spurs are going to have to make a decision, too, and see what they want to do also.”
