Pop is never going to retire at this rate.

Unreal.

Amazing. Luckiest franchise going around!

New dynasty incoming!

At least this one is legit, the 97 pick to get Duncan was always bullshit given they were a perennial deep playoff team before that and only fell down the standings for that one season because of Robinson's back injury. I never held Pop in high regard after firing Bob Hill and making himself the coach too.

Pop is definitely the GOAT in terms of being a schemer-turned-coach who manipulated the system to his advantage.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game." comes to mind if you're a little but more relenting.

Let's hope he can stay healthy. That's the only question mark.

This is all kinds of amazing, fk yes!

The GOAT coach Pop and wemby!!!!

Spurs fan since 1993. Let's f***ing go! :)

Underrated result here is Hornets getting the number 2 pick and can add Henderson next to Lamelo.

Don't know too much about Scoot, but given the westbrook comparisons, will he and lamelo be able to co-exist as ball-dominant guards? Doesn't typically go well

As long as wemby stays healthy and puts on some weight, he'll easily be a 25+12 guy, will need some good role pieces around him to make them a serious threat

He could easily be a 20-10 guy next season, and 30-12 within 2-3 years, along with 3 or 4 blocks a game

With Jones, Vasselll, Johnson and Sochan improving every year, Spurs should be aiming for something like- 35-40 wins next season, playoffs in 2024-25 and contending for a title in 2025-26

Cavs made finals in Lebron's 4th season, Orlando made finals in Shaq's 3rd, so the above timeline isn't ridiculous

But obviously given the history with Holmgren, Oden, Embiid and so many others, getting and staying healthy is the number 1 key for a 7'5 guy

getting muscle on* and staying healthy

getting and staying healthy is the number 1 key for a 7'5 guy

He's been listed as 7'3 or 7'4 for ages but he's 19 so potentially still growing

ESPN refers to him as 7'5

https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/34825273/wembanyama-nba-draft-journey-highlights-stats-games-news

"The San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA draft lottery and the right to select 7-foot-5 French prospect Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick on June 22".

Everywhere else he's listed as 7'3" so think it's safe to ignore ESPN especially as they're so closely linked with the NBA who have always exaggerated players heights for marking reasons like wrestling.

marketing

Either way, he is tall, skinny... 2 troublesome signs of being injury prone, so I hope for Spurs sake it isnt the case.

As for Hornets, I dont think they will pick Scoot, maybe they move down the draft?

Oh I agree it's nothing to go crazy about this kid is all hype at this stage and could end up the next Porzingis or even Bargnani.

Re: Charlotte, Jordan is supposedly trying to sell the team so wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get that done before the draft with all the hype of the #2 pick in play.

Hornets might even grab Miller, good fit and doesnt take away from LaMelo.

Being the number one player in the French league at 19 is not hype

Come on there's people out there saying this guy has the potential to be the GOAT before he's even set foot on an NBA court.

I just hope we don't have another Ralph Sampson on our hands here. The expectations on this kid are ridiculous.

Saying he's the best draft pick since Lebron, injuries are part of sport, Williamson knows that.

Zodiac, that also describes the hype LeBron had before going pro. In some cases it's warranted.

As a Pistons fan, the draft couldn't of gone much worse.

A 17 win season turns into the 5th draft pick. SMH

Wenbanyama ain't saving the spurs, they are crap.
Need a complete rebuild.

I think Blazers will look to trade the 3rd pick, would love Orlando to try nab it by trading Suggs, JI and pick 6 perhaps.

Weedy, are you saying Pop should go?

I didn't say that but yes he should go, way past it. The signings have been terrible for sometime.

Agree Weedy. The strength of the Spurs from 10 years ago was unearthing international talent and stockpiling a ridiculous number of future head coaches as Pop's assistants.

I'm not entirely convinced Pop is the mastermind his reputation suggests. While still recognised, RC Buford's influence could be underappreciated in that regard.

Either way, at 74yo and a recent history of poor seasons, it's time to move on from Pop and find the next Spurs stalwart.

If you're going to credit Buford for Spurs success then you should also blame front office for recent failure- like trading Dejounte Murray for a slab of beer and a ticket to the annual San Antonio rodeo.

Although given this week's events some would say that was genius ;-)

Return for Murray:

• 2023 first-round pick (via Charlotte from New York, protected)
• 2025 first-round pick
• 2026 pick swap
• 2027 first-round pick

As you point out: they tanked for the right draft, which paid off.

That's an expensive slab...

That beer was of a more premium variety than I had remembered!

Hahah what a bizarre comment

Even putting aside the hindsight of getting the top pick, the Spurs weren't trading a star away because they didn’t know what they had.

They traded him because they knew ultimately he wasn’t going to move the ticker towards a championship and it’s not easy getting free agents into a small market.

Instead of playing mid-table to get an eh pick, they blew it up and tanked to get good pick in one of the more stacked drafts of recent times and a shot at one of the most scary propositions in the history of basketball.

Plus some first rounders to go with it!

Yeah I get all that, my original comment was more defending Popovich's coaching- of course they only won 22 games with the roster of kids he had, and they got rid of the better players in Murray and later Poetl.

And Mr take out my junk and show it to everybody...

I thought they had some decent options that fit a common window, but in hindsight it looks like Murray's personality doesn’t align much with the Spurs’ culture.

Pop has made some comments in recent seasons that, while understandable, probably point to him not being an ideal NBA head coach anymore. You can't blame him for all the losing in a season where they set out to be terrible. But he's railed against 3-pt shooting while acknowledging that it's the only mathematical way to win games these days. He coached beautiful basketball that suited its era, but what suits the NBA in 2023 is stuff like what GSW do, and what Sacramento ran this year. It's similar to the older Spurs' stuff in terms of ball and player movement, but the shots you generate from it now have to be 3s.

The front office decisions haven't been great since Kawhi. They leant into Pop's mid-range love with Aldridge and DeRozan. And Wembanyama will probably be transcendent, if he can stay healthy, but they haven't actually built that much to go around him. Keldon Johnson is about the only guy left who looks like a legit starter for a contending team.

I still think Wembanyama would be breathing a huge sigh of relief to be in San Antonio over any of the other top-5 teams. There's enough history of success there, and driven by culture rather than star power, that I think the Spurs are more likely to get it together for him than any of those other tankfests.

Check out the pictures of Wembanyama next to Rudy Gobert

He's clearly taller than 7'3"

He's a massive height, got handles to match.

Assuming Gobert is actually 7'3" of course, NBA heights are often exaggerated.

Gobert's listed at 7'1" but Wemby towers over him

Video:

https://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/photo-victor-wembanyama-next-to-7-foot-1-rudy-gobert-viral/615419