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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was never shy of flaunting his friendship with his cornerstone player Tim Duncan, often saying in interviews that the two would likely hang them up simultaneously.
“I kind of believed that,” Popovich said the other day in a telephone interview with Marc Stein of The New York Times, reminiscing of what became one of his go-to proclamations.“Or maybe I was trying to make myself believe it — that I was just going to go out on Timmy’s coattails.”
Yet Timmy retired and Popovich continued at the helm of the Spurs roster, with now another product to mold to this Spurs culture and win more championships next to, none other than 2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
We all know how that story ended, as Leonard was traded last week for DeMar DeRozan in a blockbuster trade that would have never happened had the star not collided with the organization after suffering a quad injury.
Popovich isn't hoping he could turn the clock back, whether it is to retire or to fix things with Leonard, letting bygones be bygones and moving forward with a new project at hand.
“I’m not too interested in talking about the past,” Popovich said of the Leonard situation in his usual business-like manner. “It doesn’t do us any good whatsoever.”
Leonard is considered a “maybe” to show up for USA Basketball's training camp in Las Vegas. If he does, it would be his first interaction with Popovich since giving his condolences for the loss of his wife, Erin, in mid-April.
