Spurs old coaching succession plan could regain legs if Popovich doesn't return

Gregg Popovich is the greatest coach in the history of American sports. Fans can argue their preference for one great over the other, and that's fine because so much of this stuff is subjective. But what can't be argued is his overall impact on the game of basketball, and if you don't at least have him in the top 5, you don't deserve the respect of cordial conversation.

Pop has coached San Antonio for nearly 30 years, and his record is unimpeachable. You almost never saw the end of the tunnel for him, as it felt like he would be leading the Silver and Black forever. When his health issue surfaced, the reality of the great Spurs franchise being led by someone else became unavoidable.

He's coached the team so long that there have been several succession plans in place if he ever decides to leave the team. He just hadn't done that, so those plans were left by the wayside. Now that the organization is faced with the real possibility that the most-tenured coach in the league may not return, an old succession plan should make its way back to the table.

The Spurs should bring back Mike Budenholzer if Phoenix fires him

There are only two coaches at the top of my list for potential replacements if Coach Pop decides that he is unable to return. One of them is a two-time champion after leading the Las Vegas Aces to back-to-back titles: Becky Hammon. That program has had a ton of success, though, and unless something drastic happens, I don't envision Hammon leaving the Aces unless the Spurs throw a boatload of money at her.

My other choice would be Coach Bud. Not only can fans and media shorten his name to one syllable just like Coach Pop—I know, it's supremely important—but he has roots and respect in this organization. Budenholzer, to this day, has the longest tenure as an assistant next to Pop.

He was present for four of the five championships the Spurs won, joining Pop from the beginning in 1996 and leaving the organization after the 2013 season and the ill-fated Ray Allen shot. He left the franchise to take over the Atlanta Hawks the following year, but he was that close to being there for all five titles.

It was time for him to go, though. Everyone respected that because he had earned it. The plan for him to take over for Pop was a good one, but the fire to coach continued to burn in San Antonio's leader, and he stuck around. Nobody was at fault there, and Coach Bud has thrived in the league. There have been a few bumps along the way, but ultimately, he's been a fantastic coach.

Budenholzer had a 52% win percentage in the five seasons he spent in Atlanta and a 69% win percentage during his five years coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee. Giannis won back-to-back MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and an NBA championship under Coach Bud.

The Hawks didn't win a title, but they overachieved, even winning 60 games one year with a roster nobody thought should be doing that. Unfortunately, LeBron James was at the height of his powers at that time, so they couldn't break through in the postseason.

Coach Bud has been done wrong but could regain footing in San Antonio

Bud was fired in Milwaukee after losing in the first round to the Miami Heat. The Bucks were the first seed that year, meaning the Heat were an eighth seed. Apparently, everything he had done up to that point was no longer relevant to their front office, and they felt they needed a shift.

But that narrative completely ignores the fact that Giannis was injured during the first two games of that series, and when he returned, he was compromised. And not to bury the lede, but Coach Bud's brother had just died in a tragic car accident right in the middle of that playoff series.

Firing him felt cruel. It's plausible that he needed to take the year off to grieve, but that wasn't the reason they let him go based on reports at the time. He returned to the sidelines this year in Phoenix, but it hasn't been going great. That's not his fault. Their roster is flawed, and good coaches need good players to win games. That's always been the case.

They have some good players, but they don't have the right combination of guys to make a real run. They're still depending on a 37-year-old Kevin Durant to lead them to the promised land, and he hasn't done that for a team in a very long time. Give him the chance to coach a growing roster with Victor Wembanyama as his star, and you'll see the 2x Coach of the Year again.

Some of the Phoenix's players seem to have a problem with Coach Bud. He's had public disputes with Kevin Durant, and there are rumblings that Devin Booker isn't his biggest fan either. That's fine. Listen to the players who have never won anything and move on from Budenholzer. The Spurs should swoop in, reigniting the original plan to have him lead this team into the future.