No one expected that Michael Finley will eventually leave the San Antonio Spurs. Not after tasting his first-ever NBA championship with the Alamo outfit in 2007. But he did.
This is the true story behind Finley’s surprising move to the Boston Celtics late in the current season. A move that truly surprised coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs even more than Finley himself.
Herewith is a reprint of Julian Benbow’s article which appeared in the March 29, 2010 issue of the Boston Globe:
“It happened quickly, as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recalled.
He had chosen not to play Michael Finley in favor of younger talent, but he didn’t expect the classy veteran to say anything about it, much less ask to have his contract bought out.
But there they were, in Popovich’s home, the weekend before the March 1 deadline for players to be waived and still remain eligible for playoff rosters, and Finley told him that’s what he wanted to do.
The Spurs were playoff-bound again, but Finley wanted to play an active role on a team in the postseason. So he asked if he could part ways with the team he won a championship with in 2007.
“He asked, and he decided to do it and to do it the right way,’’ said Popovich, whose team beat up on the Celtics last night, 94-73, at TD Garden. “I was surprised when he asked that. I didn’t think that would be something Michael Finley would ask to do.
“I think one has to be realistic and put oneself in those shoes. And if you are toward the end of your career, and somebody’s not going to play you, and you still want to play more basketball, what’s wrong with asking to play elsewhere and trying to play as long as you can if that’s what you want to do?’’
Finley played just 25 games with the Spurs, missing 27 with an ankle injury and spending the others behind Keith Bogans and George Hill. In 12 games with the Celtics he’s quickly found a niche, averaging 4.2 points.
Seeing the 37-year-old marksman fit in so quickly with the Celtics doesn’t surprise his former teammates.
“This league is funny,’’ said Roger Mason. “There’s times when maybe the situation isn’t quite working out in one place, but it doesn’t mean it won’t in another. That’s why there are 30 teams and different guys have success in different places. I’m glad it’s working out for him.’’
In some ways, leaving the Spurs to join the Celtics was not much of a change. Each team is loaded with veterans and championship ambitions, making the transition easier.
“For somebody like Mike, he’s a vet,’’ Mason said. “I’m sure he could adapt to any type of setting, but it’s definitely easier coming to a mature group like the Celtics coming from the same type of setting here.’’
Playing against Finley for the first time since letting him go, Popovich made two things clear: the matchup was not with Finley alone, and that there are no hard feelings.
“I don’t blame him a lick,’’ Popovich said. “He’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever coached, but he wanted to keep playing. He didn’t want to sit on the bench for the rest of the season. There’s nothing wrong with that. He wanted to play.’’
While Celtics coach Doc Rivers was wrapping up his playing career in San Antonio, Popovich was general manager. Recalling a Spurs team that was on the cusp of greatness when he was there, and then how the franchise won three titles this decade, Rivers said he can see how the Spurs became the league’s model franchise.
“[Popovich] did it in the right way: with character players,’’ Rivers said. “The organization’s first-class. No one would have thought 10 years ago that San Antonio would be the organization that most of the league — and not only in basketball — model themselves after, and they do.’’
The Celtics are no exception.
“We would like to be [them], and that’s where we want to be,’’ Rivers said. “They’ve been consistent with it. They’ve done a great job with it. Everyone has their own way, but there are a lot of things that I do as a coach, there’s a lot of things that we do as an organization, that we got from them.’’
This season the teams have dealt with similar issues. They both were pegged as potential NBA Finals teams, but injuries and chemistry issues hamstrung them both.
“Obviously when the season started, both teams were labeled as contending teams, teams that had a chance to win championships,’’ Mason said. “Boston’s done it the last few years, so those similarities come. We’ve had injuries, they’ve had peaks and valleys within their season as well, so the similarities are definitely there.’’
Both teams are starting to play their best. The Spurs were 10-4 in March coming in and the Celtics were 11-4, having won five straight at home. Aside from health, the key for the Spurs might be the same for the Celtics: trust.
“Trust is a very intangible thing, but you know when it’s there and you know when it’s not there,’’ Popovich said. “People have to have time to play together to establish that. People have to respect and feel confident about each other and their own games and their own roles and in that regard it took us a lot longer than usual to establish that.’’
Now, it's time to move on for both Finley and the Spurs.
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