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Bzdelik, who inherited a stripped-down team, said management was not only looking to clear cap room to sign free agents in the summer of 2003 but also had eyes on that year’s draft. “Their whole focus was getting LeBron … I’m sure management, they wanted as many pingpong balls as they could to get LeBron,’’ said Bzdelik, now retired from coaching and living in Greenwood Village. “I got that. But I also had a job to do and it was a dance between the two.”
“When they approached me about it, I actually told them, ‘Why don’t you give the job to John MacLeod, and I’ll be his assistant as opposed to John being my associate coach?’’’ said Bzdelik, referring to the longtime successful NBA head coach who had joined Denver as an assistant in 2001. “They probably gave me the job because nobody else wanted it. Everybody knew that they wanted to be not so good in terms of talent.”
Bzdelik: You gotta compete against him, No.1. He’s walking into shots. He’s a great player and when he gets going, he’s tough to stop. But a couple times, there were no help defenders. He drove the lane and dunked it right-handed. It’s not like he can’t go right, but you gotta get a body in front of him and the secondary defender’s gotta stop him and make him kick it to someone else. And he drove left one time and a big who switched out on him, there was no low man.
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Will Guillory: Alvin Gentry says assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik isn't in the bubble with the team but "he'll be involved in every practice, he'll be involved in every game, he'll be involved in every game plan." Says Bzdelik will still play crucial role with team.
Bzdelik retired from coaching just before the start of the 2018-19 season but ultimately joined the Houston Rockets again in November of that year. He joined the Pelicans in July of last year. According to sources, Bzdelik will be able to remain in New Orleans and continue to help the team with defensive strategy from afar.
The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the additions and changes to Head Coach Alvin Gentry’s coaching staff. Chris Finch has been named Associate Head Coach, Offense. Jeff Bzdelik (Associate Head Coach, Defense) and Jamelle McMillan (Assistant Coach) join Fred Vinson on the coaching staff. Joe Boylan has been elevated to Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development, while Michael Ruffin has been promoted to Assistant coach/Player Development.
David Aldridge: Pelicans, continuing their fantastic offseason, are close to a deal with longtime NBA assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik, who was in Houston the past several years, to join Alvin Gentry’s staff in New Orleans, per sources. Bzdelik’s one of the best defensive minds in the game.
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Marc Stein: The Pelicans have offered a spot on Alvin Gentry's coaching staff to the highly regarded Jeff Bzdelik, league sources say, as Bzdelik weighs his next steps after parting ways with Houston
That will be particularly challenging in the case of finding a replacement for former associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik, a defensive guru who opted to retire right before training camp last fall in part because he felt he wasn't receiving enough respect from the Rockets' front office, according to league sources.
Mark Berman: Mike D'Antoni on Jeff Bzdelik no longer on the coaching staff: "I thought Jeff and everybody under him did a great job..You'd have to ask (GM) Daryl (Morey) about the reasoning and all that behind it, but there are some great coaches out there."
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