By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-05-03 09:21:03
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。
没有戏剧性，没有大惊喜，专注于连续性，马刺队正在告别一个难忘的时代。
今天在马刺队的世界里发生了一件大事。 格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 将会从教练席退役，转到管理层任职。 米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson) ，一位长期担任助教并在2024/25赛季大部分时间担任临时主教练，将会正式接手帅位。这是一个时代的结束。
通常情况下，一位传奇教练的离开和一位年轻、基本上未经考验的替补教练的上任会让人感觉像是发生了巨大的转变。但这次转变的奇特之处在于，虽然从组织的角度来看，这可能不是最佳选择，但它却感觉天衣无缝，甚至在某种程度上是命中注定的。
听到波波维奇正式宣布退休的消息，不可能不感到震惊。他在圣安东尼奥执教的时间比很多球迷的年龄都长，并且执教过几代马刺队，有些比其他球队更成功，但都带有他的印记和身份。接受再也不会有波波维奇的球队这一事实并不容易。但与此同时，只要稍稍放眼全局，他的退休就是一个完全可以预测的事件。他的健康问题是众所周知的。近年来，波波维奇因有机会教导年轻球员而充满活力，但在经历了近30年持续的压力和飞行之后，NBA赛季的苦战对他来说绝非易事。他已经没有什么更高的山峰可以攀登了，而且他知道自己永远可以在马刺队找到一份篮球相关的工作，这可以让他有更多的时间陪伴家人。
仔细想想，波波维奇退休当然是很自然的事情。人们倾向于把职业体育运动员视为超人，但波波维奇有足够的自知之明，他知道自己很可能已经无法继续从事他的工作了。他想确定情况是否属实是可以理解的，但结局早已注定。更令人惊讶的是，他仍然保留着球队篮球运营总裁的头衔，而不是“他想担任的任何职位”，但他最终会对自己的职责发表意见，因为这是他应得的。
故事的第二部分是关于波波维奇的继任者，这将更具争议性。这位即将退休的活传奇将会得到热烈的回顾，并在一段时间内免受批评，但人们应该审视一下马刺队是如何处理这次过渡的。今年休赛期，市面上出现了异常多数量的近期成功的资深教练，可以肯定的是，马刺队并没有认真考虑过他们。也许有一些从未泄露的谈判，但感觉就像是，如果波波维奇离开，球队就会选择米奇·约翰逊。如果约翰逊没有取得成功，他在上赛季的糟糕局面中并没有表现出天才的迹象，那么球队将会因为没有进行更彻底的教练选拔，或者即使他们选拔了仍然选择米奇而受到批评。
然而，再次稍微放眼全局，继任计划即使不是理想的，也是完全合理和可预测的。马刺队非常重视连续性，以至于他们允许约翰逊继续与 维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama) 合作，就像他还是助教时那样，甚至在他接替波波维奇担任主教练之后也是如此。这支球队的基础是由 R.C.布福德(R.C. Buford) - 布莱恩·莱特(Brian Wright) - 波波维奇三人组建立的，因此引入一位可能不同意现有做法或时间表的外部人士可能会在憎恨不稳定的组织中造成不稳定。这并不意味着约翰逊是一个唯唯诺诺的人，只会是一个傀儡；在任何教练组中爬到如此高位的人往往对如何管理球队有强烈的想法。但至少在短期内，圣安东尼奥正在确保他们不会陷入 迈克尔·马龙(Michael Malone) - 卡尔文·布斯(Calvin Booth) 的有毒局面，或者完全改变目前进展顺利的重建方向。
这是马刺队历史上最重要的日子之一，它有效地划分了波波维奇时代前和波波维奇时代后的马刺队。对于米奇·约翰逊来说，这也是一个具有里程碑意义的时刻，他将承担起巨大的责任，对于将他置于这个位置的圣安东尼奥智囊团来说也是如此。然而，虽然它具有历史意义，但它似乎并没有像如此重要的场合通常那样，夹杂着恐惧、肾上腺素、乐观和忧郁。时代之间没有剧烈或意外的断裂，马刺队尽最大努力在基本保持不变的同时，做出不可逆转的改变。
从长远来看，这是否是一件好事将由结果决定。目前，两项理论上应该让人感到震惊的公告却几乎产生了相反的效果。所发生的一切都让人感觉合理、谨慎但具有前瞻性，并且执行得很好，即使不是特别令人兴奋。马刺队不会以其他方式来处理。
点击查看原文：San Antonio handled the end of the Gregg Popovich era in the most Spurs way possible
San Antonio handled the end of the Gregg Popovich era in the most Spurs way possible
With no drama or big surprises and with a focus on continuity, the Spurs are moving on from an unforgettable era.
There was dramatic news in the Spurs’ world today. Gregg Popovich will retire from coaching and transition into a front office position. Mitch Johnson, a long-time assistant and interim coach during most of the 2024/25 season, will take over the big chair officially. It’s the end of an era.
Normally, a legendary coach leaving and a young, largely untested replacement being put in place would feel like a seismic shift. The curious thing with this transition is that, while arguably unoptimal from an organizational perspective, it feels seamless and even predestined, to a degree.
It’s impossible not to feel the shock of the official news of Pop’s retirement. He has been at the helm in San Antonio for longer than a lot of fans have been alive and has presided over several iterations of Spurs teams, some more successful than others, but all carrying his seal and identity. Accepting that there will never be a Pop team again is not easy. At the same time, the second you zoom out a little, his retirement was a completely predictable event. The health issues are well-known. Pop was energized by getting the opportunity to teach younger players in recent years, but the grind of an NBA season couldn’t have been easy to handle after almost 30 years of constant stress and plane rides. There were no more mountains left to climb for him, and he knew he’d always have a job in basketball with the Spurs, which could leave him more time to be around family.
When you stop to think about it, of course Pop retired. There’s a tendency to look at people in pro sports as superhuman, but Pop was self-aware enough to know that there was a chance he simply wasn’t physically able to continue to do his job anymore. He understandably wanted to make sure that was the case, but the writing was on the wall. It’s a little more surprising he’s sticking with his title of team president of basketball operations instead of “executive of whatever he feels like,” but he’ll get a say on whatever his duties end up being, because he’s earned that.
The second part of the story is about Pop’s replacement, and it will be more controversial. The retiring living legend will get the glowing retrospectives and will be immune to criticism for a while, but the franchise should get some scrutiny about how they handled the transition. There was an unusual number of recently successful veteran coaches in the market this offseason, and it’s safe to assume the Spurs didn’t consider them seriously. Maybe there were talks that never got leaked, but it feels like the idea was to ride with Mitch Johnson if Pop walked. If things don’t pan out for Johnson, who didn’t look like a prodigy in an admittedly bad situation last season, there will be criticism levied at the franchise for not going through a more thorough coaching search, or for still picking Mitch even if they did.
Again, however, zooming out just a little makes the plan of succession, if not ideal, then perfectly rational and predictable. The Spurs value continuity so much that they allowed Johnson to continue to work with Victor Wembanyama like he did when he was just an assistant, even after he took over for Pop as head coach. The foundation for this team has been built by the R.C. Buford - Brian Wright - Gregg Popovich triumvirate, so bringing in an outside hire that might disagree with the way things have been done or the timeline they have been done at could create instability in an organization that detests it. It doesn’t mean Johnson is a yes man who will be a figurehead; people who get as high on the totem pole in any bench tend to have strong ideas on how they’d run a team. But at least in the short term, San Antonio is making sure they don’t get into a Michael Malone - Calvin Booth toxic situation or a complete change in direction on a rebuild that has gone well so far.
It’s one of the biggest days in franchise history, a date that effectively separates the pre-Popovich and post-Popovich Spurs. It’s also a monumental moment for Mitch Johnson, who will have some huge shoes to fill, and for the San Antonio brain trust that has put him in charge. Yet while it feels historic, it doesn’t seem to carry the mix of dread, adrenaline, optimism, and melancholy that such a momentous occasion normally does. There was no violent or unexpected break between eras, as the Spurs did their best to change irrevocably while largely staying the same.
Whether that’s a good thing in the long run will be determined by results. For now, two announcements that should, on paper, feel earth-shattering have had almost the opposite response. What happened feels reasonable, cautious but forward-thinking, and well-executed, if not particularly exciting. The Spurs wouldn’t have it any other way.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock