SAN ANTONIO — Recently, a report from NBA reporter Marc Stein surfaced that Jazz coach, Quin Snyder, could be the next San Antonio head coach once Gregg Popovich decides to retire.
"More and more, I hear Snyder's name as a potential Pop successor that the Spurs would naturally relish," Stein reported.
What made the report more interesting is that Snyder and Utah's current contract keeps him through the end of next season. Some see that as a sign next season could be Popovich's final season paving the way for Snyder.
The Jazz head coach recently spoke about this rumor calling it "disrespectful."
"To be honest, having to address this type of question in any form, in my view, is disrespectful to the teams that are mentioned themselves," Snyder said to the Salt Lake City Tribune. "I think specifically, these types of discussions are also disrespectful to coaches. And I love the guys that I coach. I love these players."
Said Snyder: "And frankly, my focus is on our guys and our team. And as I said, addressing hypotheticals in these types of questions in any form I feel like is disrespectful. And that’s how I would characterize that."
Snyder spoke about how he never talks about his contract situation and isn't about to start.
“I’ve never talked about my contract from day one, and I’m not going to,” he said. “That’s not something that I’m going to comment on now, nor at any point in the future. That’s not something that the Jazz have done. I personally don’t want to or believe in getting into public contract discussions.”
If the Stein report is true and Snyder finds himself back in San Antonio, it would be a seamless fit.
He was the then Austin Toros (now Austin Spurs) head coach from 2007-10. During his time in Austin, he had more wins and helped more players to the NBA than any other coach in the G League. It's a testament to his coach with an eye toward player development, which San Antonio is currently doing this season with the bevy of young players on the roster.
He preaches defense first, has that Spurs "corporate knowledge" and comes with plenty of coaching experience from the G League, internationally, and in the NBA.
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