Rest assured that Gregg Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs were always going to cope well with whatever punishments were doled out by David Stern in the wake of Restgate 2012. You can make that forecast even when so many questions raised by Stern’s “substantial sanctions” remain unanswered, because we all know there isn’t a better deal-with-it team in pro sports than the NBA’s silver and black.

While waiting for that $250,000 fine that the Spurs ultimately incurred Friday night, wondering like everyone else about what sort of precedents will be set leaguewide now that San Antonio’s bill has been sent, I found myself fixated just as much on the other big Pop story that will play out before the playoffs.

Popovich’s chances, namely, of being named Team USA’s next coach.

I so want to believe the GM who insisted to me Friday: “Absolutely, positively not. The league doesn’t get in USA Basketball’s way like it used to.”

The final call on who coaches the national team, of course, belongs to USAB chairman Jerry Colangelo. As it has since 2005.

via Marc Stein of ESPN.com