By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-04-23 02:38:42
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
波波维奇退休的时机应该由他自己决定——理应如此——但他最近的健康问题使得这个话题无法被忽视。
格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 最近经历了一次健康危机，他在一家餐馆里晕倒并被送往医院。几个月前，他曾因中风而缺席了 2024-25 赛季的大部分比赛。
幸运的是，据报道，最近的事件并不严重，他正在家中康复。但这一消息将一个极其令人不安的讨论推到了前台，这个问题再也无法回避或淡化： 波波维奇 是否有能力在即将到来的赛季执教马刺队？如果不能，备选方案是什么？
首先需要明确的是，我们不了解 波波维奇 。我们不是他的朋友，我们的意见无关紧要。虽然不可避免地会与一个我们已经观察、支持（以及批评/事后诸葛亮）了几十年的人物建立某种程度的准社会关系，但我们不知道他现在在想什么。同样，我们也不知道他的医生告诉了他什么。我们知道他中风了，最近又晕倒了，但我们不知道这两者是否有关联。我们知道他是 NBA 历史上最年长的教练，但他的年龄本身以前并不是障碍。关键是，担心 波波 的健康是可以理解的，但如果他真的重返教练岗位，如果声称担心某人的健康和精力，却既不了解他们的思维过程，也无法获取所有相关信息，那么批评他的决定将是愚蠢的。
如果他真的回归，并且 波波 只缺席了少数几场比赛，那么完全可以说这会带来净收益。马刺队一直非常重视球队的连续性。当最终需要做出改变时，通常最好逐步进行，以防止在一切进展顺利时对球队系统造成冲击，圣安东尼奥的情况就是如此。尽管 波波维奇 中风以及 维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama) 不幸的健康问题造成了干扰，但马刺队的胜场数仍然超过了去年，并且在赛季的大部分时间里都接近附加赛资格。在交易得到 德埃隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox) 之后升级了控球后卫，再加上一两个休赛期的补充，季后赛应该触手可及。让 波波 在不久的将来成为稳定的力量，将有助于重建的完成，并为球队提供更多的时间来制定继任计划。
这种选择的问题在于，它只在最佳情况下有效。如果 波波 缺席的时间过长，尤其是在不可预测的时间，那么球队将面临比单纯的教练更换更糟糕的混乱局面。有更多的时间来制定继任计划会是一种不错的奢侈，但这个休赛期有很多有价值的候选人可能会很快被其他球队聘用。如果已经决定由 米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson) 担任他的继任者， 波波 可以继续担任他的职位，并再为他提供一年的指导。即便如此，也可以说，即使 波波 深度参与日常决策，给予 约翰逊 正式的主教练头衔，可能是更好地展现未来稳定性的方式。
担忧不仅仅局限于即将到来的这一年。 波波维奇 有可能再执教几个赛季，但在不久的将来，他终究会退居二线。这是不可避免的。如果我们抛开情感因素（在这种情况下，这可以理解地很难做到），很明显， 波波维奇 时代即将结束。他有权按照自己的方式结束职业生涯，这使得事情变得复杂，但即使他决定回归，也必须制定继任计划。不是初步讨论，而是必须做出决定。如果 波波 在本赛季再次遭遇挫折，下一步该怎么做？如果他现在、六个月后或一年后退休，谁来接替他？球队不能再次陷入困境，仅仅因为谈论一个公认的敏感话题会让人感到不舒服。
目前唯一可以接受的“希望一切顺利”的方式是，球队也要为最坏的情况做好充分的准备。也许这已经发生了，但这些讨论需要一段时间——而且考虑到马刺队组织的严密性，我们不太可能听到任何关于它们的风声。 波波 值得花时间弄清楚自己想要什么，以及自己实际上能做什么，但除了作为一位在世的传奇人物之外，他似乎也是一个务实的人，他不会因为球队制定应急计划并询问他职业生涯最后阶段的时间表和路线图而感到受到侮辱。
忠诚是圣安东尼奥赞扬并代表的一种美德，超过了大多数球队，但很难想象马刺队会在主教练位置的未来这样一个重大因素上小心翼翼。无论如何，事情不应该变得难堪。如果 波波 能够回来执教，他将有机会这样做。这是每个人都应该期望的结果。
然而，每个时代最终都会结束，如果后 蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 时代教会了球队什么，那就是：在转型过程中有一个明确的方向，并了解这一时刻的重要性，至关重要。马刺队应该为后 波波 时代做好准备，无论那是什么时候。
点击查看原文：It’s time to talk about Gregg Popovich
It’s time to talk about Gregg Popovich
The timing of Pop’s retirement is his decision —as it should be— but his latest health scare makes the topic impossible to ignore.
Gregg Popovich had a health scare recently, as he fainted in a restaurant and had to be hospitalized. The episode comes months after he suffered a stroke that sidelined him for most of the 2024-25 season.
Fortunately, the latest incident was minor, and he’s recovering at home, according to reports. But the news pushed to the forefront an extremely uncomfortable discussion that can’t be avoided or downplayed any longer: Is Popovich capable of coaching the Spurs in the upcoming season, and if not, what’s the alternative plan?
The first thing that needs to be clear is that we don’t know Gregg Popovich. We are not his friends, and our opinions don’t matter. While it’s impossible to avoid developing some level of a parasocial relationship with a figure we’ve been watching, rooting for (and critiquing/second-guessing) for literally decades, we have no idea what he’s thinking about right now. Similarly, we don’t know what his doctors have told him. We know he suffered a stroke and he recently fainted, but we don’t know whether the two are related. We know he’s the oldest NBA coach ever, but his age by itself wasn’t an impediment before. The point is, it’s fine to worry about Pop’s well-being, but if he does return to coaching, it would be foolish to criticize his decision by claiming concerns about someone’s health and energy when we have neither insight into their thought process nor access to all the relevant information.
If a return does happen and Pop only misses a handful of games, there’s a very clear case to make about it being a net positive. Continuity has been something the Spurs have valued greatly. When changes eventually have to be made, it’s normally better to ease into them to prevent a shock to the system when things are going well, and that’s the case in San Antonio. Despite the disruption caused by Popovich’s stroke and the unfortunate health issue that sidelined Victor Wembanyama, the Silver and Black won more games than last year and were within reach of the play-in for most of the season. With the upgrade at point guard after the De’Aaron Fox trade and an offseason addition or two, the playoffs should be within grasp. Having Pop as a stabilizing force for the near future would allow the rebuild to be completed and afford the team more time to work on a plan of succession.
The problem with that option is that it only works under the best-case scenario. If Pop misses extended time, especially at unpredictable times, the franchise would face an even worse level of disruption than just a coaching change would cause. Having more time to figure out a succession plan would be a nice luxury, but there are plenty of worthwhile candidates available this offseason that might be employed by someone else soon. If a decision has already been made that Mitch Johnson is his successor, Pop could maintain his position and provide him with another year of mentoring. Even then, it could be argued that giving Johnson the official title of head coach, even if Pop is heavily involved with the day-to-day decision-making, could be a better way of projecting a sense of stability going forward.
The concerns go beyond this upcoming year. There is a chance Popovich could coach for a few more seasons, but at some point soon, he’ll have to step aside. It’s inevitable. If we leave sentimentality aside, which is understandably hard to do in this situation, it’s clear that the Popovich era is close to its end. He’s earned the privilege to go out on his own terms, which complicates things, but even if he decides to return, a succession plan has to be in place. Not discussed tentatively, but decided. If Pop suffers another setback during the season, what’s the next step? If he retires now or in six months or a year, who’s taking over? The team cannot be in limbo again simply because it’s uncomfortable to talk about an admittedly sensitive topic.
The only way that hoping for the best is currently acceptable is if the franchise thoroughly prepares for the worst as well. Maybe that’s already happened, but those discussions will take a while — and given how tight-lipped the Spurs organization is, we’re unlikely to ever hear a peep about them. Pop deserves the time to figure out what he wants and is actually able to do, but on top of being a living legend, he seems like a pragmatic person that would not be insulted by the organization setting up contingency plans and asking him about a timeline and roadmap for the final stage of his career.
Loyalty is a virtue that San Antonio exalts and represents more than the majority of franchises, but it’s hard to imagine the Spurs tiptoeing around a major factor like the future of the head coach position. In any case, things shouldn’t get ugly. If Pop can come back and coach, he’ll get the chance to do so. It’s the outcome everyone should hope for.
However, every era eventually ends, and if the post-Tim Duncan years taught the franchise anything, it’s this: having a clear direction in the middle of a transition, and knowing the weight of this moment, is paramount. The Spurs should be prepared for life after Pop, whenever that is.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock