Gregg Popovich knows what is in store for the Hawks - specifically the relationship between general manager Danny Ferry and new head coach Mike Budenholzer.
The long-time Spurs head coach, winner of four NBA titles from 1999-2007, worked with Ferry during his three stints with the Spurs, two in the front office and one as a player. Popovich recruited Budenholzer at Pomona College, gave him a non-paying job with the Warriors and brought him to the Spurs 19 years ago.
As part of an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, here is one question and answer from Popovich. (More of the interview can be found in a Sunday story by Steve Hummer and in the coming days.)
Q. Both Danny and Bud said (Wednesday) that expect to have heated exchanges while making the decisions that have to be made going forward. How does that relationship (between GM and coach) work where you can walk out of the room unified?
A. The ability to initially disagree and discuss, come to a conclusion and then follow that as a team speaks to people's character, maturity and ability to be comfortable in their own skins. That is the kind of people who can get things done. If you don't have those qualities, you can't do that. Bud's imminently used to that. We have a participatory sort of style here the way we do things. If I'm having a meeting about players or free agents or whatever it might be, (general manager) R.C. (Buford) and his guys are in the room, whether it's been Danny or Dell Demps or Sam Presti or whoever and Bud will be in there and probably one or two other coaches. Maybe eight, nine, 10 people will be there. We will get feisty and we all are a bunch of wise (expletive) to some degree anyway, and we give each other crap and this, that or the other and we get through it. If it takes four minutes or four hours, it doesn't matter. We get through it together. By the time we finish, everybody has been convinced one way or the other and by the time you leave the room it's one decision and everybody follows it – to the extent that if anybody doesn't give their opinion, their (butt) will be out of here soon because I don't need it. I don't need anybody here who won't give their opinion and stick by it.
If (Spurs owner) Peter Holt came to our practice facility and came to the film room and asked the film guys ‘What do you think about Pop doing this? Or waiving this guy? Or trading this guy?’ If there opinion is the opposite of mine and they don’t give it, I don’t need that guy in the film room. Peter Holt knows he is going to get that kind of answer. If everybody feels empowered that they can, without fear, give their opinion on something and it doesn’t affect their position, now you have something powerful working for your organization and now those ideas are out there and they can be taken and they can be used and we don’t give a damn where the idea came from. I know Bud and Danny will do it exactly the same way.
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