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The Spurs on Friday announced the hiring of former Florida Panthers executive James Suh as their chief financial officer. Suh will oversee "all financial operations and long-term strategic planning for Spurs Sports & Entertainment and its portfolio of teams and venues" while reporting directly to franchise chief executive officer R.C. Buford, the Spurs said in a press release.
“James is an accomplished leader with a proven ability to navigate complex organizations and deliver sustainable growth,” Buford said. “His experience leading financial strategy at the highest levels of professional sports, combined with his collaborative leadership style and values that align deeply with our culture and community-driven mission, makes him an outstanding addition to our executive team. As we continue to invest in our teams, our venues and our community, James will play a critical role in shaping the future of Spurs Sports & Entertainment.”
RC Buford on Gregg Popovich: “He’s incredibly disciplined—one of the most disciplined people I’ve ever met. He comes into the gym five days a week, does his rehabilitation, and continues to get better. The most emotional part of his journey now is that Tim has been in the gym with him every day. When Manu, Tony, or Boris come in from out of town, they’re there with him every day as well. It’s incredible to see the love and respect they have for each other. None of those guys have to be there, and Pop would still be there whether they were or not. To me, that shows we have a different kind of relationship and emotional connection within our organization, because I don’t think there are many teams where you would see that.”
RC Buford: “I think we had many coaches over the last 10 years who could have stepped into that role. Ime Udoka was with us, along with James Borrego, Brett Brown, Mike Budenholzer, and Will Hardy. There were many people with us who could have stepped into that role, but the longer Coach Pop stayed, the more those coaches moved on to other opportunities. When we needed Mitch to step up, he did so in a big way. It was incredibly emotional for him to take on that role. ‘Interim’ is probably the wrong word, because at the time of Pop’s stroke, we didn’t know whether Pop could come back. Mitch had that year to show the players—and all of us—who he could be as a coach.”
RC Buford: “I think it was it wasn't intentional just on France. I think it was more intentional in 1999 when 97 we get Tim Duncan. We already had David Robinson. We won our first championship in 1999 and we believed that we were going to be good for a while while those guys were going to play together. And that being the case, we needed to we were going to draft at the end of the first round. And if we were drafting at the end of the first round and we were just watching American college players, we'd be drafting a player that 25 other teams would have passed on. And so we became intentional about let's get in gyms where other people aren't and start looking for players differently than maybe the league was at the time. And it really fit the way Pop wanted to coach. He wanted to team build with a very internationally diverse group of people so that we could all learn together."
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R.C. on Pop: "Pop is recovering amazingly well from his stroke...Tim Duncan's been there everyday...Tony or Manu or visitors from other teams...they all come & spend time with Pop... It's really emotional to see how connected our group has been for so long and how they continue to show up for Pop."
Anthony Morrow: Right now San Antonio is like the little brother of Oklahoma City. Like they're right in the same path. Like you see how Sam Presti has developed this team to be what they are now. It's the same as what San Antonio was with developing who they were and they've been sustainable. Shout out to Coach Popovich, RC Buford, doing that work over there and just the development, and I know Sam kind of took that blueprint and went there with it. I would love to see them in the Western Conference Finals every year for the next five years or something like that because they still young.
Joe Boylan: He looks for the same simplicity in people. When hiring, he wants curiosity and the will to work. “Does not have to be a rocket scientist,” he said. “Just someone who wants to understand things better.” Volas also asks questions of everyone. “Even ask the arrogant ones. They will tell you things of great value.” Volas asked one last question before we wrapped: “How do you treat people when nobody’s looking? And how do you treat people who can do nothing for you?” It reminded me of an undrafted rookie with the Golden State Warriors named Kent Bazemore, who would go four hours early to pregame to get extra work. One night in San Antonio, a team executive walked up and said, “How long has RC been watching you guys?” We looked to see Spurs president RC Buford watching quietly from a suite.
But the Spurs offer, when it came, was too good to refuse: $7 an hour, minimum wage in Texas. “Dude, it was tough,” he says. But Saleh jumped at it and, over four years in San Antonio, was exposed to nearly every aspect of the organization. Most importantly, he had the chance to work alongside the likes of RC Buford and Gregg Popovich, the legendary management and coaching tandem that had led the Spurs to four of their five NBA titles. “RC Buford and Pop were amazing mentors of mine,” Saleh says. “They were phenomenal in my growth and development and then, after (four) years there, the Warriors ended up hitting me up. I didn’t think I was going to leave San Antonio, but 15 minutes in a room with (then Warriors president) Bob Myers sold me.”
RJ Marquez: BREAKING: Spurs CEO RC Buford releases statement on term sheet agreement: - Spurs commitment will be $2.1B total - Ensures no “tax impact” and 100% cost of overruns - Thanks Erik Walsh, city council, Judge Peter Sakai, commissioners for work to get term sheet before Thurs. vote.
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RJ Marquez: Here’s the break down of the term sheet commitments from the Spurs: - SSE says $500M directly to arena, $1.4B overall guarantee - Spurs increased community benefits package to $75M - No money diverted from city’s general fund - $489M from city, $311M from county (public vote)
The San Antonio Spurs are strengthening their ties to Victor Wembanyama’s homeland, announcing a new agreement Tuesday to have the French digital asset security firm Ledger be its new jersey sponsor. Ledger is based in Paris, where the Spurs played two games last season. The Spurs have long had an enormous following in France, with players like Tony Parker and Boris Diaw playing for San Antonio before the team drafted Wembanyama in 2023. “This moment cements a decades-long history of international collaboration and growth by the Spurs organization, as the game of basketball has grown to touch every culture and continent,” said RC Buford, the CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment. It is a multi-year deal, but specific terms were not announced.
Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said Gregg Popovich coach has been aggressive in his recovery from a November stroke, with the team saying he continues to make progress. "All I can share is he's attacking his rehab in a way that ... you know Pop, you've observed him for years," Buford, one of the people closest to Popovich, said Wednesday. "The same resilience that he's shown over the course of our career as a coach, he's approaching his return in his rehab in an incredibly unique way. The relationships that he had with our former players and the care that they're sharing with him is amazing. And his improvement continues."