Gregg Popovich and the Spurs don’t want to talk to free agents at midnight
When free agency officially at 12:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, many NBA franchises will attempt to contact and meet with as many of their top targets as possible. The idea is simple — the team that gets to a player first has a chance to make a strong first impression and prove it wants that player simply by rushing to get in the door. When adding an All-Star (either proven or budding) is on the table, these franchises usually don’t consider restraint to be a virtue.
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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich wants you to believe that he and his team are different. While the Spurs have enlisted Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to help in their pitch to unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge, Popovich says the Spurs won’t be contacting the four-time All-Star or any other free agents when the clock strikes midnight. From Buck Harvey for the San Antonio Express-News (via SB Nation):
“I’m not calling anyone at midnight,” he said. “I’ll be in bed. And if that’s the difference in someone coming or not coming, then I don’t want them.”
Let no one claim that this comment is not on brand. The Spurs have cultivated a reputation as a no-nonsense organization focused on wins and little else, often eschewing the trappings of contemporary NBA fame out of the belief that they only serves as distractions. Not going after free agents at the first possible moment fits with that philosophy, because a player who will fit well in the Spurs culture does not require quite so much personal attention.
On the other hand, the Spurs are also a very practical organization, to the point where it’s hard to imagine them turning down a first meeting with Aldridge (who’s meeting teams in Los Angeles, where it will be 9 p.m. instead of midnight) if he requested they meet with him at that time. The Spurs have rarely opted to chase a high-profile free agent during the Popovich-Duncan era, but when they have they certainly haven’t shied away from making a serious, full-fledged case. To put it another way, they’re only choosing not to contact Aldridge at the start of free agency because he’s slotted them into a meeting time and deemed that such a call isn’t necessary. Would a team fighting to stay relevant deep into the future really turn down a midnight meeting with a player they have designated as a priority? There’s a difference between holding to the franchise’s core values and acting irresponsibly.
Instead of congratulating Popovich on focusing on what really matters (i.e. getting a good night’s sleep), we should consider why the Spurs feel like they don’t need to make these late-night calls. When they meet with Aldridge, they will do so with three men (Duncan, Parker, and Popovich) with 14 championship rings between them on their side of the table. Few teams go into free agency from such a strong position — contenders are contenders because they already have the star players that teams with cap space covet. If many teams look desperate at the beginning of free agency, it’s almost always because they have to compensate for whatever on-court success they lack.
Essentially, the Spurs are lucky enough to have the stability and results that other teams must chase. They’re in that spot because of their own excellent management and performance, but it’s a position of privilege nonetheless. If things ever go south in San Antonio, it’ll be interesting to see if this approach manages to survive.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
