Knicks, Nets Could Learn How to be Champs From Spurs

On Wednesday night, the basketball stars were perfectly aligned over New York.

LeBron James was in town with his Cleveland Cavaliers, getting ready to play the Knicks in the Garden.

Tim Duncan and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs were over in Brooklyn, losing an overtime thriller to the Nets.

“They’re buying into Coach Lionel Hollins’ system,’’ Spurs VP and coach Gregg Popovich said, after the Nets got their first win of the season over a team with a winning record, as Kevin Garnett took the night off for rest. “As the year goes on, Brooklyn is going to be a monster.’’

Nets fans had to be elated when they read Popovich’s prognosis, especially after the way that Brooklyn, in Deron Williams’ words, had been recently playing like “zombies.’’ Popovich doesn’t just throw compliments around and getting his “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval’’ has to be encouraging to Nets GM Billy King, as well.

Popovich has been the master architect of the NBA’s gold standard, with the Spurs capturing five titles since 1999 and showing everyone that they just might be able to repeat, for the first time in franchise history, this June.

Yes, this is a special franchise, one Knicks or Nets fans would kill to have for their own. In case Popovich didn’t know that, he learned of it when one of Phil Jackson’s old Knicks teammates called him last summer, after the Spurs easily handled James and the two-time defending champion Heat in five games that felt like a clean sweep when it was over.

Bill Bradley, the former U.S. Senator, and “Dollar Bill’’ during his Knick playing days in the Red Holzman championship era, had nothing but praise for what Popovich’s team had accomplished as rebounded from its crushing Finals loss to the Heat in 2013.

“He said he liked the way the guys played and the way they handled themselves,” Popovich told reporters before his team fell to the Nets. “I was speechless. He’s been one of my heroes for a long time. That’s when I started to realize we must have done pretty damn well, besides just winning. I cherish it, but since it’s a new season, I’m trying to forget it for now.”

But there are things that Popovich won’t forget -- and no one around here should forget -- when it comes to how the Spurs have been able to dominate their sport.

People like Knicks owner Jim Dolan, and his Brooklyn counterpart, Mikhail Prokhorov, would do well to take a long, hard look at what has made the Spurs attain and maintain a level of excellence that few professional sports teams have ever matched.

Yes, they’re blessed to have Duncan, one of the top players in the history of the sport. And they always seem to surround him with the right pieces.

But it really starts at the top, with San Antonio’s owner Peter Holt. Unlike Dolan, who has been a notorious meddler and the de facto GM at times during his tumultuous tenure running the Knicks, Holt is totally hands-off. He leaves the basketball decisions to his basketball people, starting with Popovich and his chief assistant, general manager R.C. Budford.

Dolan has promised to leave Jackson alone as the Zen Master tries to rebuild the Knicks, although Dolan apparently got in the way when Jackson wanted to hire Steve Kerr as coach, but instead had to go with second choice Derek Fisher. Jackson has never run a team, so it’s essential that Dolan follows through on his pledge if the Knicks are going to have any success.

As Popovich told me, about his own boss, “Number one, Peter Holt is smart enough to know that he’s not a basketball coach or a manager. He’s been very successful and he’s secure enough in his own skin to allow R.C. and I to do our work. Peter had faith in me way back in the beginning. He believed in me and allowed me to step out and do it the way I thought it should be done. .... Very frankly, I wouldn’t be here if he operated like some other owners, in a shortsighted sort of way. I’m not trying to indict any individual, but guys get fired every year who are good coaches and it’s got nothing to do with what they know or don’t know. Peter’s a wise, patient man, and he is willing to look at the big picture."

The Spurs’ way of doing business has led to six Finals appearances in 16 seasons and five championship banners that hang in the AT&T Center in San Antonio. It’s been proven time and again that it is the right way to build a winning franchise.

Just as Popovich has been given the freedom to make all the calls, the same was true in Miami during the LeBron Era, with owner Micky Arison staying out of team president’s Pat Riley’s business as the Heat to four straight Finals and won two titles.

More than any other player, Duncan appreciates how the Spurs conduct their business. He could have left sleepy San Antonio any number of times during his Hall of Fame career to join a big-market team. But he always felt comfortable enough to take less money as a free agent, to ensure that Popovich would have enough cap space to always be able to give Duncan the best supporting cast possible.

“Pop has always talked about that freedom, the ability to make his own decisions and make his own calls, without the owner being involved and without Peter holding him back from what he wanted to do," Duncan told NBC 4 New York. “That way he and R.C. know exactly what kind of team he wants to put together and what kind of moves he wants to make, without having to clear everything with the owner. It’s worked well, obviously."

Lately, nobody has come close.

You wonder if the Knicks and Nets have watched how the Spurs have built their dynasty. You even wonder if the Cavaliers bothered to notice when they crossed paths with the champs the other night in New York. We’re talking about the owners of those teams, who could learn a thing or two about winning from the Spurs’ Peter Holt.

Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 21 years. His columns for NBCNewYork.com on the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, along with other major sports, will appear twice weekly. Follow him on Twitter @Mitch _ Lawrence.

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