As reported by Woj, Gregg Poppovich - the Spurs' longtime head coach who has led this franchise to 22 straight playoff appearances - is expected to sign a 3 year deal this offseason which puts to bed the rumors that he will retire this offseason.
This deal continues to make him the highest paid coach and the deal will give him three full seasons to try to get the most coaching wins in NBA history, which, based on the the Spurs' track record will be pretty easy to get in three years. He currently had 1245 wins and is 90 away from the record. No one else coaching now is close to catching him (D'Antoni has 628 and Doc Rivers has 853). However the Spurs franchise still has a lot of other complications to work out. Their three best players - LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, and Rudy Gay are all turning 30 or over 30 going into next season. Their wins have dropped from 61 in 2016-17 to 48 in 2017-18, and to 47 in 2018-19. Yes, the talent has gone way down, but in an increasingly difficult Western Conference, it may take Pop about 2.5 to 3 years to reach the 90 wins he needs to have the most wins of all time. So clearly the team is in decline and their 22 year playoff streak will be coming to an end in the next year or two. When that happens, that could also coincide with Pop hitting the all time wins record.
I hope he gets the record because he is truly deserving of it, but it could be a struggle at the very end as he will have to face: an improved Timberwolves, a healthy Lakers, a Mavs with Porzingis and Luka, and the Clippers who may have Kawhi. I have learned not to doubt Pop and his ability to coach but it is only going to get harder during the last three years of his coaching career.
These next three years look to be the final three years of Pop's career and will truly be the end of a historic era in San Antonio. They are a model franchise and a team the NBA can be proud of because they can show just how successful a small market franchise can be. These next three years could also coincide with the end of LeBron which will close the book in the 2000s officially.
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