Gregg Popovich Wants More Championships, Extends Contract with San Antonio Spurs
Barely a month removed from his fifth NBA title, Gregg Popovich wants more after agreeing to extend his contract with the San Antonio Spurs for multiple years.
The move is not unexpected after the Spurs notched the 2014 NBA championship in a convincing fashion against the Miami Heat.
The extension was announced on Thursday but the terms of the deal were not disclosed. Popovich’s previous deal paid him $6 million to coach the squad and have general manager powers as well.
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San Antonio is known to be prudent with their spending. Recently they re-signed veteran leader Tim Duncan and forward Boris Diaw to just $10 million and $7.5M, respectively to stay with the squad. Tony Parker is the highest paid player in the roster due $12.5M in 2014-2015 and key players like Manu Ginobili ($7M), Tiago Splitter ($9.25M) and Patty Mills ($3M) all have friendly contracts.
Popovich will be returning with the squad hoping to give the franchise its first back-to-back titles and sixth overall. The Spurs won the titles under Pop in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.
The 65-year-old veteran mentor is entering his 18th straight season as San Antonio’s coach with a career 967-443 (68.6%) regular season and 149-90 (62.3%) playoffs win-loss records.
Popovich was named the NBA Coach of the Year three times; the first in 2003, then in 2012 and last season 2014.