There is talk in the industry about former UVA Basketball coach Tony Bennett being a possible target for the San Antonio Spurs, who don’t exactly have an official opening right now, but the writing seems to be on the wall, with respect to Gregg Popovich.
I can argue a million reasons why I don’t see Bennett-to-San Antonio happening, but still, this story has traction behind the scenes.
ICYMI
- Bad news, UVA Basketball fans: No, Tony Bennett isn’t coming back
- UVA Basketball: Tony Bennett, with humility, decides, it’s finally time
The spin is that Bennett has the backing of the Spurs’ majority owner, billionaire Peter Holt, but there’s not much on the interwebs about that.
I was told by one of my contacts in the coaching business a few months ago that the front office in San Antonio was considering Bennett as an interim replacement for Popovich, who suffered a mild stroke in November, and missed the rest of the season to focus on his recovery.
Again, I’m not seeing anything on the Googler on that, either.
The thinking shared with me on this, let’s call it a rumor, because that’s what it almost certainly is, just a rumor, borderline wild rumor/baseless speculation, is that Bennett is viewed as a Popovich-type leader, and it’s his leadership qualities that would be the attraction, in the face of his lack of coaching background in the NBA.
Here’s what I see: Bennett, because of his lack of NBA coaching chops, would have to hire a staff of NBA veterans, and then have to lean on them to provide the x’s and o’s, because there’s no way his mover/blocker base offense, Pack Line defense and slow tempo would work in the NBA.
Seriously, you see Victor Wembenyama either setting or running off screens for 30 minutes a night?
No.
In which case, why not just hire one of the NBA veteran assistants to take the reins, right?
What’s been getting thrown back to me on this point is, maybe Bennett has some ideas for adjusting his philosophies for the NBA game.
My counterpoint: he left the college game because he wasn’t willing or able to adjust his basketball philosophies to make things work in the new NIL era, and now we’d expect him to be able to do that for the NBA?
The money is better, obviously, in the NBA – Popovich signed a five-year extension in 2023 that pays him $16 million a year; Bennett was getting a shade over $4 million at Virginia when he stepped down.
I’d be willing to learn whatever I needed to learn for $16 million a year.
My final analysis here: I’d be shocked at anything beyond Bennett being quietly offered an NBA job, so quietly that we’d never hear about it.
I don’t know that he’s done coaching. Bennett is 56 in June, so, he still has another 10, 12 years to do some damage in D1.
I can see the NCAA finally figuring out how to rein in the Wild West of NIL and the transfer portal, and two or three years from now, Bennett decides, it’s time, and makes his return.
That day will suck from the perspective of the UVA Basketball universe, but I’m fully expecting it to come, so, prepare yourself.
It would hurt less if he were to graduate to the NBA, but I just don’t see that happening.
Share
Chris Graham
