ESPN sources say that Gregg Popovich, as of now, is intent on coaching out his entire five-year contract that he signed last summer
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 4, 2015
According to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News (h/t Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk), Popovich’s friend and Southern Methodist University head coach Larry Brown revealed the three-time NBA Coach of the Year considered retirement after undergoing heart surgery in November:
His hip surgery had gone well, but there was a hiccup with a heart condition that was not unlike the atrial fibrillation that (former Spurs center) Fab Oberto had. Popovich underwent a procedure, and, after he had done everything the doctors had asked, palpitations returned.
Brown says the episode occurred during the preseason tour in Europe. That eventually culminated with Popovich missing two games in late November for a second procedure.
‘I really believe he was close to retiring then,’ Brown said.
Even though this may seem like scary news, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein recently reported the 66-year-old head coach now has no intention of retiring until his contract expires in 2019, and San Antonio’s success in free agency has much to do with that:
Signing of Aldridge all but clinches notion that Popovich, as we’ve been writing for a year now, will NOT go out when Tim Duncan goes out
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 4, 2015
It’s really going to be interesting to see how Pop incorporates Lamarcus Aldridge into his system and I am looking forward to seeing how that works itself out. Aldridge is still in his prime, giving Popovich the ideal big man to continue to develop in the post-Duncan era, and possibly taking Aldridge’s game to new levels. To put it frankly, without Popovich in the NBA a lot of us fans would also need heart surgery.
