Pop is the least likely coach to be fired

As author of the Open Thread, I am often sent email correspondence from people pitching possible article ideas. Some fit the idea of what would fall into a Spurs-centric conversational blog, others not so much.

Last April, when the pandemic was first keeping people at home, the Spurs offered up the AT&T Center for people to be able to access the internet for free. I wrote a blurb on the availability. Somehow, a consumer company comparing the speed of 5G vs 4G sent me their findings on the failure of 5G to live up to the hype . . . in case I felt like writing a post about that.

I also get nearly every set of Vegas odds, and not just for basketball, but predominantly NBA odds on winning championships or trades or All-Star picks.

But here was some Vegas betting options I found interesting: who is the most likely NBA coach to be fired? The actual email headline was “Here’s who is favored to be the next NBA head coach fired.” Favored. That seemed like a cruel thing to put money on.

Even tougher was it came on the heels of Ryan Saunders’ firing from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

So who is on the chopping block?

Dwayne Casey and Luke Walton give a betting man the most bang for his buck at 250/1.

And at the other end of the spectrum live San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich at 25,000/1

It should come as no surprise that the most successful NBA coach in history has very little chance of being shown the door mid-season. After all, he famously gave himself the job all those years ago.

Even after missing the playoffs for the first time since his first full season of coaching, Pop’s legacy and ability to usher in the next generation of Spurs players is valued way above scrapping it all for a fresh start. It would cause a mutiny to even breach the topic.

It’s just not the Spurs way.

Here’s the entire list if you are curious:

Next head coach fired

Dwane Casey +250

Luke Walton +250

Scott Brooks +300

Steve Clifford +500

Lloyd Pierce +1000

Michael Malone +1200

J.B. Bickerstaff +1400

Mike Budenholzer +1600

Rick Carlisle +1800

Erik Spoelstra +2000

Terry Stotts +2500

James Borrego +2800

Stan Van Gundy +3300

Brad Stevens +3500

Mark Daigneault +4000

Monty Williams +4000

Stephen Silas +4000

Taylor Jenkins +4000

Nate Bjorkgren +5000

Billy Donovan +6000

Chris Finch +6600

Frank Vogel +6600

Steve Kerr +7500

Doc Rivers +8000

Nick Nurse +8000

Tom Thibodeau +8000

Steve Nash +10,000

Tyronn Lue +15,000

Quinn Snyder +20,000

Gregg Popovich +25,000

Get your bets in now!

---

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.