There have been many rumors swirling on when Gregg Popovich would put away his clipboard and retire from the San Antonio Spurs.
These rumors can be dated all the way back when Tim Duncan retired; that Popovich might go out with him but the legendary coach decided to stay on.
Now, it seems that there is a new timetable for Popovich, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Since the Spurs won a fifth NBA championship in 2014, Buford has had to be prepared for the possibility of Popovich, 69, coaching a final season and moving onto NBA retirement. […]
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 the NBA and globe, preparing for his national team duties.
With Popovich coming back for next year, he has one big decision and meeting this offseason with Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs need to decide if that relationship is reparable and if they want to offer Leonard the super-max contract.
Most believe that the Spurs will offer Leonard that type of money, but Wojnarowski thinks that given the way San Antonio does things, they might want to see him on the court first.
History suggests the Spurs could want to see Leonard return to the active lineup before making a super-max offer next year, see him reinvested fully into the program. To think Popovich will walk into a room after months of discontent and immediately drop that $219 million on Leonard goes against every way the Spurs have operated.
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