ESPN's Stephen A. Smith raised eyebrows on Monday, suggesting San Antonio Spurs longtime head coach Gregg Popovich as one of his ideal candidates to coach the Brooklyn Nets after Kenny Atkinson's firing over the weekend.
During Monday's episode of “First Take,” Smith said his top candidates for the open Nets job would be Tyronn Lue, Mark Jackson, and Popovich, not necessarily in that order:
According to @stephenasmith, there are only three candidates to fill the head coaching job with the Brooklyn Nets …
… one of them is Gregg Popovich. pic.twitter.com/yc6jUkg6zS
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 9, 2020
If that wasn't enough, he'd later confirm his take on his own Twitter page:
As far as I'm concerned, these are who should be the three candidates to be the next @BrooklynNETS head coach. pic.twitter.com/okt4oix4DG
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 9, 2020
Popovich is the longest-tenured active coach in the NBA and one who has been with the same team for more than two decades now. There has been speculation about Popovich retiring after coaching Team USA in the 2020 Olympics, but nothing is set in stone.
Lue is currently an assistant under Doc Rivers for the Los Angeles Clippers. There have been conflicting reports about Kyrie Irving's desire to have Lue take over as Nets coach.
Jackson has been in the middle of coaching rumors for years now, but has yet to leave his position as color commentator for ESPN since returning to the role. He last coached the Golden State Warriors from 2011-14.
Popovich might see his record of 22 straight postseason appearances come to an end this season, as his Spurs are five games back of the last playoff spot in the West and have struggled to gain a rhythm all season long.
The longtime coach also gave some heartfelt thoughts after Atkinson's firing, as Jacque Vaughn has taken over the helm in an interim basis. Popovich has a close relationship with Nets general manager Sean Marks, who played for Pop and coached on his staff before taking over as GM in Brooklyn.
While this certainly seems like a crazy idea that has no chance of happening, never say never in the NBA.
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