Sources: Popovich expected to sign 3-year deal

Once Gregg Popovich formally commits to return for his 24th season as San Antonio Spurs coach, he’s expected to sign a three-year contract that will keep him as the highest-paid coach in the NBA, league sources told ESPN.

A Popovich contract extension has been a foregone conclusion for months, but the deal won’t change the fact that he will continue to take his coaching future year to year, league sources said. Spurs ownership believes he’s entitled to manage his future the way he wants, sources said.

Popovich, 70, told reporters on Monday that he was negotiating a new contract and suggested that he would see them again in the fall. His five-year contract ended with the Spurs’ Game 7 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Popovich will coach Team USA in the FIBA World Cup in China in September and in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. There’s a belief that he could use the Olympics as a final coaching act, but that remains unclear.

Popovich has 1,245 victories, third on the all-time list behind Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens. He’s won five NBA championships as Spurs coach and has advanced to the NBA playoffs a league-record 22 consecutive years.

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