SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker may be walking through that door at the San Antonio Spurs' practice facility, but they are only coming to visit.
In their place on the court is a bunch of fresh-faced youngsters who may want to wear a name tag to curry favor with 73-year-old coach Gregg Popovich.
鈥淚 walked into the film room today, and there was this young kid sitting there, and I said, 鈥榃ho the hell are you?鈥欌�� Popovich said. 鈥淪eriously. He said 鈥� I forgot his name already. I don鈥檛 know anybody.鈥�
The franchise that won five NBA championships and matched a league record with 22 straight postseason appearances now has the equivalent of summer interns walking the halls.
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili have long retired and the team鈥檚 plans for life after The Big Three were sidetracked following the trades of young stars like Kawhi Leonard in 2018, Derrick White last season and Dejounte Murray this offseason.
Instead, the 50th edition of the Spurs is the youngest in franchise history. They are so young that 19-year-old Josh Primo has become a mentor to Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley 鈥� the 19-year-olds San Antonio drafted in the first round this year.
Still, it鈥檚 an opportunity to teach that Popovich seems to relish.
鈥淗e鈥檚 still around here smiling and excited each and every day,鈥� said forward Keldon Johnson, who will turn 23 in mid-October. 鈥淲e are already excited, high energy, yelling and things like that, but to see him come along with us and smiling is something big.鈥�
Popovich considered last season a chance to develop his young roster. That plan is amplified this season with at least 10 players 25 or younger.
鈥淚 probably shouldn鈥檛 say this, but I鈥檒l say it anyway, what the hell: Nobody here should go to Vegas with the thought of betting on us to win that championship,鈥� Popovich said.
The Spurs do return veterans Jakob Poeltl at center, Doug McDermott at forward and Josh Richardson at guard. And some players are not giving up on the playoffs.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited for us,鈥� Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. 鈥淚 think we can surprise a lot of people. I think that as long as we play together, and we play the right way, we鈥檒l have a chance to win every game.鈥�
STILL IN SHOCK
Murray鈥檚 offseason trade to Atlanta caught his teammates by surprise. He became an All-Star last season and blossomed into the team鈥檚 leader at just 25.
Spurs general manager Brian Wright said the opportunity to acquire three first-round picks and a potential fourth in a pick swap was too good to pass up.
鈥淢an, it was tough because he was like a big brother my first year,鈥� Primo said. 鈥淗e taught me so much. He was a great leader for me. Hearing it, I was shocked in a lot of ways. I had to understand that it is a great opportunity for him, but also for the rest of us. So, it works out for both parties.鈥�
INJURY REPORT
Johnson suffered a right shoulder posterior dislocation after getting 鈥渢angled up鈥� with a teammate last week during workouts at the Spurs鈥� practice facility. Johnson will miss the start of training camp but expects to play in San Antonio鈥檚 season opener Oct. 19 against Charlotte.
STARTING OVER
Popovich said Poeltl will start at center for the Spurs but was non-committal about who else will join the six-year veteran.
Johnson should return to the starting lineup once he is healthy and Vassell started at guard following White鈥檚 trade to Boston last season. McDermott also returns after starting all 51 games he played last season.
Primo is expected to vie with two-year veteran Tre Jones to start at point guard.
BIGGEST FAN
Seeing Becky Hammon win the WNBA Championship in her first season as head coach of the Las Vegas Aces was 鈥渙ne of the greatest days of the summer for me and the coaches,鈥� Popovich said.
Hammon spent eight seasons as a Spurs assistant.
After attending Game 2 of the WNBA Finals in Las Vegas, Popovich cheered from his San Antonio home as the Aces beat the Connecticut Sun to claim the franchise鈥檚 first championship.
鈥淚n a larger sense, I miss the heck out of her,鈥� Popovich said. 鈥淪he was there at every meal on the road when she was here and helped me be a better coach. She is a lovely person. Just any time we are able to spend with her is a real joy.鈥�
OOPS
Popovich was sporting a clean-shaven look after having a beard last season. The change wasn鈥檛 intentional, he admitted.
鈥淚 was trying to make it look like I was really trying to take care of it and I did something and half of it was gone and I had to shave it all off,鈥� Popovich said.
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Raul Dominguez, The Associated Press
