The San Antonio Spurs executives discuss their new vision for the team and Gregg Popovich’s future

Fire Gregg Popovich.

It’s the first thing an NBA executive said he would do if he was given the challenge of taking over one of the most successful franchises in the National Basketball Association.

The longtime Spurs manager led the team to five NBA titles, and the franchise’s 22-year playoff race ended only recently, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. With 1,277 wins, Popovich is the third most winning coach in NBA history.

So, fire Popovich?

Andy Dolich, the former president of the Memphis Grizzlies, laughed when told about the executive’s first move. He called it a “gut reaction”. Dolich instead suggested “an in-depth look at the organization” to identify areas for improvement.

“This is how real businesses improve,” he said.

The question, though: after so much dominance, so many memorable moments with David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, how do you rebuild Spurs, sports and entertainment?

How do Spurs start another 22 years of NBA dominance?

To find the answers, the team held a Zoom call with three of the organization’s top executives, including CEO RC Buford and CEO Brian Wright.

The executive who wanted Popovich to leave laughed at the idea. He knows the chances are slim, but he remembered Popovich’s first move when he spoke to Spurs in 1996: he fired then-coach Bob Hill.

Dolich said Spurs could do what he labeled a “SWOT test”.

“Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and insight into every part of the organization,” he said. “See what’s strong, look what’s weak and make plans to make it stronger.”

The first question about the Zoom call to Buford: in which areas are the Spurs currently weak?

“We will only talk about the weak points,” Buford replied.

He then talked about the Spurs value-based system, mentioned the team’s 47 years in the NBA, reaching post-season 39 times in that period and a 0.599 win rate, the best in league history.

“This is the history and legacy we are here to build on,” Buford said. “And from a vision standpoint, it won’t change much: values-based, culture-centered, community-driven and championship-driven.”

In the past five months, the world has been rocked by a pandemic, which forced the NBA to close on March 11, and social unrest after George Floyd’s death on May 25. Buford said Spurs have learned by “articulating our vision and our messages will be important.”

But the Spurs could use an update in several areas, including its practice site, the dreadful AT&T Center, which doesn’t have adequate Wi-Fi and will soon get naming rights in 2022 for the building.

In an email, AT&T confirmed the expiry of the naming rights but did not make an official available to discuss the matter.

The vision also includes greater openness to the public. Spurs have used social media to take a more behind-the-scenes look at the franchise through new assets like “Spurs Stories”.

It’s a data game, as the team is looking for new revenue streams with Covid-19 changing engagement strategies. Spurs fans are among the most loyal in the NBA; hence, providing them with a closer look within the franchise could be profitable if they followed the metrics.

Brandon Gayle, the new executive vice president for partnerships and revenue for the Spurs, was also on the Zoom call and discussed the vision.

Gayle, who Buford recruited from Facebook, will help oversee the team’s desire to expand reach from Monterrey, Mexico, to Austin. “How can we start owning the whole territory and all the points around and in between,” he said.

Gayle said creating “a peek behind the scenes so people can get to know this brand and understand what it stands for” will help that growth. If Spurs can build new audiences and collect metrics, Gayle said, monetization opportunities should follow, allowing the team to increase its roughly $ 285 million in revenue.

Gayle said AT&T and Frost Bank “have been fantastic and committed to our partnership.” AT&T has naming rights in the arena worth approximately $ 2 million per season and Frost Bank has a sponsorship of the jersey. If for some reason they withdraw, however, it would be a “great opportunity to extend our regional and global perspective,” Gayle said.

He added that Spurs are strong locally and “companies have been supporting him from a revenue perspective for the past 22 years.” “But we have a real opportunity to maximize revenue generation if we think of the brand globally and even regionally,” he said.

Gayle said Spurs will also begin improving his app by making more cashless options available as he hopes to attract fans once health and safety conditions allow.

Longtime Spurs communications chief Tom James intervened in Zoom’s conversation. He mentioned the new photographer on the team, who has “full access”.

“He can do whatever he wants,” James said of the photographer’s access to gather the content. “You know us. It’s a big change.”

“We had to convince you to leave before we started doing it,” Buford commented, referring to this reporter, who covered Spurs before coming to CNBC.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the vision that interests fans has to do with the basketball product.

A Western Conference team executive praised Popovich’s work in the NBA Disney bubble, noting the Spurs’ small-ball formation, which he called a “unique style” but questioned its overall direction.

Do Spurs get young and rebuild themselves? Is another model to remain competitive and attract another top free agent, similar to what the team did in 2015 when LaMarcus Aldridge landed from the Portland Trail Blazers?

“We think we’re positioned well with the mix of veterans we have and the mix of younger kids that are developing along the way,” Wright said.

Aldridge will earn $ 24 million next year and co-star DeMar DeRozan has a $ 27 million player option. Near the NBA’s commercial deadline, the Spurs were rumored to be shopping at Aldridge, but rival executives suggest the Spurs “played too much thinking they should have gotten a giant package for him,” an NBA executive said.

Spurs could buy Aldridge again this offseason. Aldridge had mended his relationship with Blazers superstar Damian Lillard, and an agent suggests the Spurs could send him back to the Blazers.

On the DeRozan front, he will likely decide to choose his option. The Spurs could build around him, using the team’s bubble game as a roster model or trade him even if he gives up. DeRozan is close to Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, and an agent has planned a possible Spurs-Heat package.

It’s Wright’s job to help settle the roster, and the NBA economy around its 2020-21 salary cap will be key. But having been promoted less than a year ago, Wright is still learning the Spurs way. This came during the Zoom call.

When asked how to rebuild the Spurs, Buford intercepted Wright’s question.

“Jabari let me answer that,” Buford interrupted. “It’s fairer to me [answer] since I have been involved in this for a long time. “

Buford explained that Spurs were never influenced by public opinion. In support of this, he recalled the calls to “blow up” at the end of the David Robinson era, and then again at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Buford said Spurs will continue to target their roster “optimistically and opportunistically”. He then mentioned Aldridge’s signing, which resulted in an appearance at the Western Conference final in 2016.

“Things didn’t turn out the way we hoped, and it’s not on anyone,” Buford said. “Some decisions we wish we could have made differently, but I think having the ability to develop young talent and the flexibility to be opportunistic will be what we will continue to do.”

But who will be on the sidelines as the roster continues to develop?

According to Buford, even with the Spurs vision shifting in a different direction, it’s still channeled through Popovich, who is 71, and will continue.

“Pop’s vision was clearly our North Star,” he said. “However, having said that, when we prepare to make a decision, we all walk into the room, and everyone has to be prepared, and he doesn’t care who gets the right answer as long as we get the right answer.”

Asked about Popovich to rumors of New York, where former Spurs executive and current Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks might seek his services, Buford said Spurs are “under the assumption” that Popovich is returning. . The coach is also scheduled to coach the United States men’s national basketball team in next summer’s rescheduled Olympics in Tokyo.

“I don’t know if he said to Brian differently,” Buford said. “Pop showed nothing but how we will build our team for next year.”

But Buford added: “Pop’s vision will be in play long after he is there. That doesn’t mean he’ll make those decisions, but we’ve all learned together and you won’t shy away from a values-based, team building aspect. which focuses on culture and coming to work every day and working on it. “

As Spurs approach their 50th birthday in the NBA, the team is looking to celebrate their organization, Buford said. He concluded the Zoom discussion by securing the Holt family’s commitment to San Antonio despite turning a $ 75 million investment in 1993 into $ 1.8 billion and a recent minority ownership change.

“The pieces change all the time – not a lot here but in other organizations,” Buford said. “Individual investors, for whatever reason, are constantly changing. But the Holt family’s commitment to the community, we are here in San Antonio to stay.”