Is San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sticking it to Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver with his team’s lineup for the exhibition opener Monday? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the possibility that Popovich might be grinding Sarver’s gears for something that happened two years ago is too fun to ignore.
INJURY REPORT: The following players will not travel to tomorrow’s preseason game in Phoenix:
Aldridge
Gasol
Ginobili
Green
Mills
Parker— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 2, 2016
If you recall, Sarver lost his mind when the Spurs didn’t send their best players (and Popovich) to a preseason game in Phoenix in 2014. He grabbed a microphone and did an IRL subtweet of Popovich and the Spurs to the fans in attendance.
“This is not the game you paid your hard-earned money to watch,” Sarver told the crowd. “I apologize for it. And I want you to send me your tickets if you came tonight with a return envelope and I’ve got a gift for you on behalf of the Suns for showing up tonight. Thank you.”
Imagine being this mad because you had to watch backups at an exhibition game, which is probably the first thing that pops into your mind at a preseason exhibition game. This is also why you should never have to pay to watch an exhibition game.
Of course, Popovich crushed Sarver in his response, saying he should’ve spoke to the fans while wearing a “chicken suit” before offering a reasonable explanation for leaving so many key players home.
“We had five guys we didn’t send,” Popovich told the San Antonio Express-News. “Patty Mills had a shoulder operation over the summer. Tiago Splitter has been out the whole preseason. Kawhi Leonard was out and is still out for 10 more days. The other two, Duncan and Ginobili, are two of the oldest guys in the league who just came back from a 13-day European trip.”
This is like when someone with 32 followers talks trash to Chrissy Teigen on Twitter. You know she’s going to end that person publicly and viciously. All we can hope for now in 2016 is Sarver publicly crying about Tim Duncan not playing in the game. “Where is he, huh? What are the Spurs hiding? It’s a shame a Hall-of-Fame player like Duncan isn’t playing in front of our fans tonight!”
That’s when Popovich takes a deep breath in front of the media the next day and unleashes hell. Please make this happen, Sarver.
