Gregg Popovich Says He's Won't Be Talking To Free Agents After Midnight Because He'll Be Asleep

Larry Brown Sports- Gregg Popovich is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history. And if the only way the five-time champion is going to add a sixth Larry O’Brien trophy to his collection is by staying up until midnight to talk to free agents, Pop wants no part of it.

The NBA free agency period will officially begin at midnight on Tuesday. By rule, that is when teams are allowed to start recruiting players and negotiating with them. But anyone who wants to talk to Popovich will have to wait a few more hours.

“I’m not calling anyone at midnight,” he said Monday, per Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. “I’ll be in bed. And if that’s the difference in someone coming or not coming, then I don’t want them.”


"Free agency? Is that like, important or something? Hmm, I wonder why literally every single person associated with the NBA is pounding coffees and making sure their phones are fully charged. Wasn't the draft last week?"

Ain't nothin' but a G thank babaaaay, Greg Pop hittin' the sac at 10 thirttttay! Look, the NBA is Gregg Popovich's livelihood, so I am not saying that he will be completely off the grid once midnight hits, but would it really shock if that were the case? And if that is the case, it's absolutely refreshing. In fact, I hope he stays up all night and just hits the 'fuck you' button to every single person that calls just to prove a point. I hope he changes his voicemail message to "I ain't got no worries". By now, everyone knows that the NBA is a player driven league. Superstars constantly get executives fired or their teammates traded. It's not very often that you can say that the coach has the talent by the balls. That's why this is such a power move by Gregg Popovich. You know how much power and respect you have to have amongst a bunch of rich, entitled athletes to tell them that your sleep is more important than their future? You want to sign with the Spurs you will do so on his watch. Shit, I hope he starts making calls at 6AM and wakes THEM up. He's not getting into bidding wars at 2AM. He's too old for that shit. He has too much clout. Too many championships. He needs his sleep for when the real work has to get done come October. Every year his team is considered too old, yet virtually every year they win 50 games. They didn't need any hired guns to go to the finals in 2013, or demolish LeBron and company in 2014. Hell, if it wasn't for a super human performance by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin they probably would have been in the conference finals again this year.

It's gotten to the point where the only thing you can guarantee in the NBA is that Greg Popovich will be fielding a legitimate contender come May. Would Lamarcus Aldridge be a huge addition to the San Antonio Spurs? Of course. However, do you think Lamarcus Aldridge is making any decisions about his future without talking to Gregg Popovich? Do you think he would turn down the opportunity to meet with a head coach with 5 championships that has turned an eerily similar power forward, Tim Duncan, into one of the best big men of all time? Fuck no. Greg Popovich isn't going to sleep because he doesn't care about acquiring these players, he's going to sleep because he knows he can. He knows he has the respect of every single person employed by the NBA. He knows at the end of the day any player that wants to play for the Spurs needs him more than he needs them. Not only is there no player that is more important than the team, but there isn't even a player that's more important than his REM cycle.