(Photo courtesy NBA.com)
SPURSDYNASTY REPORTER: Could you be clear about your practice habits, since we can’t see your process?
LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE: If a coach says I miss the process, and y’all hear it, then that’s that. I might’ve missed one part of the process this year, but if somebody says ‘He doesn’t commit to the process,’ it could be one part of the process out of all the processes this year, that’s enough. I told Coach Pop that you don’t have to give the people of San Antonio a reason to think about trading me or anything like that. If you trade somebody, you trade them to make the team better… simple as that. I’m cool with that. I’m all about that. The people in San Antonio deserve to have a winner. It’s as simple as that. It goes further than that.
SD: So you and Coach Popovich got caught up on Saturday about the process?
LMA: If I can’t get the process, I can’t get the process. If I’m hurting the team, I’m hurting the team. Simple as that. It’s not about that at all. But it’s easy to talk about and sum it up when you just talk about the process; we’re sitting here, and I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re in here talking about the process. I mean, listen, we’re talking about the process. Not a fundamental game! Not a selfless game! Not a passing game! We’re talking about the process. Not a well-coached game; not the Spurs game plan that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last; not the Spurs Way, we’re talking about the process, man. I mean, how silly is that? We’re talking about the process. I know I’m supposed to be there, I know I’m supposed to lead by example, I know that. And I’m not shoving it aside like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important. I do. I honestly do. But we’re talking about the process, man. What are we talking about? The process? We’re talking about the process, man! We’re talking about the process! We’re talking about the process… we ain’t talking about ‘The Beautiful Game’! We’re talking about the process, man! When you come to the arena, and you see me play… you see me play, don’t you?
SD: Indubitably.
Sure, this exchange never happened. The Spurs Way would never allow such dysfunctional thought processes to be a part of their organization, but I’ve heard the word “process” so much in these first few weeks that it brings to mind Allen Iverson’s drunken “practice” rant to mind. It’s not just Aldridge that uses this term – the other high-profile new-comer, David West, constantly answers questions with the p-word. Everyone in the Spurs locker room uses this term lately. The exception is Ginobili, who chooses to use phrases like “we are working on it” – which is basically the same thing.
So what can we expect from ‘The Process’? In the home game against the Hornets, we saw David West find his groove in the process and have his best game as a Spur yet. We see Aldridge spending time outside of mandatory practice to find his reliable shot in a Spurs uniform. We see Coach Pop learning how to run two different styles with an isolation game for his first unit and a cut-and-pass game for his second unit. As Spurs fans, we have to watch the ugly growth spurts while keeping a positive attitude about where the Silver & Black will be in May.
Go Spurs Go.
