Gregg Popovich jokingly rips Steve Kerr for 'rejuvenated' comments

Kerr's old coach responded with mock-anger to his former player's backhanded compliment. If Popovich is "rejuvenated" this season, does that mean he was checked out and lethargic and "curled up in [his] bedroom" before the San Antonio Spurs got generational prospect Victor Wembanyama? 

(For the record, Pop's deleted expletive rhymes with "grass bowl.")

Popovich does seem excited to have a skilled 7-foot-4 big man like Wemby, but the biggest sign that he is in fact rejuvenated is that he's talking trash to Kerr again. Five years ago, when Kerr's son, Nick, was an assistant with the Spurs, Popovich joked that he was a spy, sending information to his father about the Spurs' plans for the Golden State Warriors.

"I haven't fired him yet," Popovich told the media, "You have to have evidence. But we're going through his computer, we're going to figure it out," before claiming he was planning to tell Kerr the younger that San Antonio was planning to use a box-and-one on the Warriors.

Another sign of Popovich's renewed energy is that he's sparring with sideline reporters again. While less salty than some of Coach Pop's other moments, he did refuse to dignify a question about Wembanyama's "deficit" last week.

The saltier Coach Pop is, the better he's feeling about Wembanyama and the Spurs' season.