Open Thread: Spurs “what if” #4- The Spurs cut Capt. Jack just before the 2013 postseason

Oct 5, 2022 - 11:00 AM

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Back in 2019, Stephen Jackson joined Matt Barnes’ “All the Smoke,” a Showtime NBA talk show.

There is a youtube of the entire conversation, but it is not suitable for some sensitive listeners. Good thing News 4 San Antonio’s Jeff Garcia posted an article via Spurs Zone that truncated the G-rated rhetoric and focus on Jackson’s specific conversation regarding his release from the San Antonio Spurs in 2013.

All quotes are directly from Stephen Jackson:

I remember coming out of practice. I had a great practice.

I’m feeling good. Tim (Duncan) is coming to mess with me and as I am in the locker room, one of the trainers come and was like ‘Pop wants to talk to you in the film room.’

I’m thinking he’s going to tell me ‘Great practice and I’m going to play you.’

As soon as I go in there, I see his face. It killed my whole mood. I just wanted to kick him in his face. I know this isn’t going to go how I expected it to.

I sit down and he hit play on the film screen. He has all the highlights of me (messing) up in the last 3-4 games. He found my worst possessions in life and played them on the tape for me.

And he was like, ‘Jack you haven’t been playing well. I know you had a great practice today. I want to bring in Danny Green, (Manu) Ginobili and the rest of these guys in and I want you to admit these guys are better than you because I am going to play them. We’re about to go to the playoffs.’

Despite Pop’s handling of the situation, Stephen Jackson still spoke highly of his former coach.

This is one thing about Pop - the smartest coach I have ever played for. Everything he does is calculated. I respect him too much. I can never say anything bad about him. I love Pop. He was like a father to me those years in San Antonio.

But he knew what my response was going to be before he asked me that question.

As Spurs fans know, they would go on to lose to the Miami Heat in heartbreaker in the Finals.

“They ended up losing to Miami. That’s good for (them) because I would have gotten that rebound and the way I feel about Ray Allen, I would have locked him up.”

Do you agree with Capt. Jack? Not that the games would have played out exactly the same had Stephen Jackson stayed on the roster, but for a moment think about Stephen in those Finals. Would the outcome have been any different?

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