San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich responds to Tony Parker’s comments – NBA Update
After maintaining an uncomfortable silence ever since the San Antonio Spurs lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the First round of playoffs, Coach Gregg Popovich finally broke the ice and gave his take on Tony Parker’s misguided comments
to French journalists. And the comments were blunt and honest as usual. The San Antonio Spurs head coach said he doesn’t really care about what Tony Parker had said.
Parker has been with the San Antonio Spurs for 10 years and is the team’s starting point guard. Popovich and Parker have won three NBA World Championships at San Antonio. The 6-foot-2 Tony averaged 17.5 points and 6.6 assists per
game in the regular season this year. After the Spurs crashed out of the NBA playoffs in the first round this year, Parker made some negative comments about their chances in the future.
In an interview given in France, Tony Parker said he felt the team would no longer be a serious title contender next season. Parker cited the age of the core players on the team and said the 2010-2011 season was pretty much San
Antonio’s last shot at their 5th NBA World Championship in the Tim Duncan era.
After coming back to the United States Parker tried to retract those comments which had caused a furore in San Antonio. The Spurs playmaker insisted that he loved the Spurs and his new contract extension with the San Antonio franchise
was proof of his belief in their ability to be competent.
However, now Gregg Popovich has responded to his earlier comments and was apparently not pleased at all. In an interview to local press Gregg Popovich came down hard on the comments and made it clear that it wasn’t Tony Parker’s
job to speculate on the Spurs future,
“You think I care what Tony Parker says?” Popovich said “You think Tony Parker is gonna coach when he quits? Why would I listen to Tony Parker?”
Tony Parker owns a basketball team back in France but Popovich said Parker does not have the credentials to coach, at least not yet. He went on to speak about the fact that his point guard should concentrate more on playing then
worrying about the affairs of the team. That’s Gregg Popovich’s job.
“He can own but he can’t coach,” Popovich said. “Get your –– out there and play, Tony. Tie the score. But talk about basketball, I don’t need Tony for that.”
Tension between the head coach and the starting point guard at the San Antonio Spurs could lead to major problems for the team. A side already in its twighlight years needs everyone on the same page in order to achieve title glory
one more time. However, the signs increasingly point towards unrest in the roster and this great Dynasty of the Spurs could suffer as a result.
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