“Pop is the master of building it brick by brick”

On Road Trippin’ with RJ and Channing, Richard Jefferson shared with host Allie Cliffton how Popovich will build Victor Wembanyama into a future star, but that expectations for Wemby should be tempered as the season begins.

Jefferson compared it to Pop’s benching of Kawhi Leonard for a half in his rookie season to “send a message.”

Via the podcast info on Spotify:

On this edition of Road Trippin’, Allie and Richard discuss San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, and the impact he will have on rookie Victor Wembanyama. Rich believes that Coach Pop had the biggest impact on his career, and his track record of nurturing past superstars like David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Kawhi Leonard leads him to believe that Wembanyama will be built up in that same blueprint.

Also, Allie and Richard speculate on the plans for James Harden, DeAndre Ayton and Damian Lillard, and where they will most likely wind up, and when the moves will happen. Allie also brings up LeBron James and Rajon Rondo taking time to coach their sons in basketball, and Rich discusses how he believes that their collective basketball IQ’s are some of the best he’s ever known. Allie also asks Rich about the Lakers possibly returning to the “two bigs” set up that lead them to the 2020 NBA Championship, and if Dwight Howard could return and fill that role for Los Angeles.

Jefferson shares gratitude on how working with Popovich extended RJ’s career. He has a distinct perspective having played for the Spurs.

In 2009, Jefferson was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto. In March of 2012, the Golden State Warriors traded Stephen Jackson for Jefferson along with a conditional first-round pick.

Jefferson has become a pundit who plays his version of Charles Barkley to Kendrick Perkin’s Shaq, but since 2017, he and fellow Cavaliers teammate Channing Frye and former Cav’s sideline reporter Allie Clifton.

You can hear the entire episode.

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