The San Antonio Spurs aren’t waiting long to start their preparations for the next NBA season. In the first of two announcements, women all across the sporting world gained a collective win as Becky Hammon was promoted and is moving up the Spurs’ coaching ladder.
Hammon will now be in the front row alongside head Coach Gregg Popovich starting this next season, filling the spot that was vacated by James Borrego. Borrego vacated the sport to become the new coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
Ettore Messina and Ime Udoke also are at the front of the bench, with Messina being Popovich’s top assistant. Hammon made waves in the sporting world when she joined the San Antonio coaching staff in 2014 and was one of six assistants under Popovich last season.
On top of that, Spurs guard Danny Green announced that he has exercised his $10 million player option on his contract and will return to the team next season. Green averaged 8.6 points per game for the Spurs last season and has played eight out of his nine NBA season with the Spurs.
His decision reflects the tight financial marketplace that would have limited his ability to earn beyond the $8.6 million mid-level exception.
The Spurs also picked up two draft picks in this year’s NBA draft, with first-round pick Lonnie Walker from the University of Miami and Chimezie Metu in the second round from the University of Southern California.
The Spurs only made it to the conference quarterfinals in last season’s playoff run, losing to the ultimate champions, the very talented Golden State Warriors. These updates to their coaching rosters and player rosters are huge for the Spurs as they look for how to build their team into a bigger powerhouse going forward.
