Gregg Popovich plans to coach beyond Tim Duncan era

by Vincent Frank

There have been widespread rumors that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was planning on calling it quits at some point soon.

At 66 years old and with five NBA titles under his belt, the most successful coach of this era really doesn't have much more to prove to the masses. Though, the expectation that Pop would call it quits after Tim Duncan retired in order to avoid a rebuilding process in San Antonio, probably should be thrown out the window.

Duncan himself waffled on a return to the Spurs this year and is likely only going to play one or two more seasons. Enter into the equation LaMarcus Aldridge, who San Antonio inked to a four-year, $84 million contract this summer.

San Antonio's head man indicated during the team's media day on Monday that there were certain promises made to Aldridge during the courting process.

"Signing LaMarcus (Aldridge), I had to make a commitment," Popovich said to ESPN's Sage Steele in his normal nonchalant demeanor (h/t Business Insider). "I couldn't say, 'LaMarcus, we would love to sign you, see you later.' So I committed to those guys, and I committed to LaMarcus. So, I've got to fulfill my promise."

It was previously noted that the longest-tenured head coach in American professional sports would lead the Spurs for the remainder of his current deal, which runs through the 2018-19 season. Interestingly enough, that's the final year of the deal Aldridge inked this past offseason.

While noting the imminent departures of Duncan and the rest of San Antonio's championship core, Popovich seemed resigned to the fact that he will eventually coach without them:

"I will feel very weird walking out onto a court and not seeing Timmy or Manu or Tony out there," Popovich said. "(They are) kinda like my safety blanket or my comfort level. I'll miss them a lot."

The good news here is that Popovich won't have to worry about that in 2015-16. The core of San Antonio's team returns with the additions of both Aldridge and David West.

And while the Western Conference is absolutely stacked, San Antonio stands as good of a chance as anyone to dethrone the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

So yes, we get to enjoy the awesome antics of Pop for the next few NBA seasons. Outside of conference rivals that would rather see him retire, no one is going to complain about this.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL.