Nuggets fire coach Jeff Bzdelik

[Amphatoast]

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets fired coach Jeff Bzdelik on Tuesday on the heels of a six-game losing streak and a lackluster start to the season.

The team scheduled a 1:30 p.m. ET news conference.

"We felt we needed a change. I want to thank Jeff for all the hard work. He's a big part in turning this around," Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe told the Denver Post. "But we want to build to the next level, and the team wasn't going in the right direction. Sometimes, you can use a change or a new voice."


Nuggets assistant Michael Cooper was named interim coach after Bzdelik became the NBA's first coach to be fired this season. Memphis Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown stepped down last month because of health reasons.


Denver was expected to move near the top of the Western Conference after signing All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin, but so far the season has been filled with bad luck and inconsistency.


Shooting guard Voshon Lenard, Denver's only legitimate outside shooting threat, was lost for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon in the opener and the injuries have been piling up.


The Nuggets started the season without power forward Nene and have used 10 different starting lineups, with star forward Carmelo Anthony missing the past five games with a sprained ankle.


But Denver's problems went deeper than bumps and bruises.


Denver opened the season 2-5, won 10 of its next 12 games and has lost eight of its last nine, dropping to 13-15 after a 104-101 loss to Golden State Monday night -- Denver's sixth straight.


Bzdelik was a longtime assistant and scout under Pat Riley in Miami and New York before getting his first shot at a head coaching job with the Nuggets in 2002. Though Denver struggled to a 17-65 record in his first season, worst in the league, Bzdelik was credited with turning the Nuggets into a hard-working, defensive-minded team.


A roster overhaul and the addition of Anthony made all the difference in 2003-04. The Nuggets improved by 26 games to 43 wins -- the sixth-best turnaround in NBA history -- to reach the playoffs for the first time in nine years.


Through all the success, Bzdelik wasn't able to get any security from the front office. General manager Kiki Vandeweghe refused to give Bzdelik a contract extension last season and it seemed the only reason he was back this year was because of a contract clause that called for his option to be picked up if the Nuggets reached the playoffs.


Bzdelik was 73-119 in just over two seasons with Denver.


Cooper, a member of the Lakers' "Showtime" teams of the 1980s, coached the Los Angeles Sparks to two WNBA championships and a finals appearance in four years before joining the Nuggets as an assistant this season.

Cooper has a two-year contract and an option for a third year with Denver. He coached the Sparks to a 116-31 record.

Denver's next game is Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

[trubucksfan]

you could see this one coming even last season when they were winning, there were a ton of reports about him being fired despite the record. he seems like a pretty good coach and probably wont be out of a job for too long.

[Amphatoast]

i dont know why the nuggets wanted to fire him even when he was doing good last year

[j.23]

so will michael cooper still coach the LA Sparks or will they find someone new?

[Micchy_boy]

so will michael cooper still coach the LA Sparks or will they find someone new?

when cooper sign as an assistant caoch for denver, he already step down as spark coach... his 2 asst in sparks took over.

about jeff, i hate to see him go, he did well and i think the management messed the team by getting k-mart, its kiki's fault what's happening in denver and not jeff. hope to see jeff in other team..

maybe knicks will try to get him as all available players they want to be in their team, why not also a coach...

[Ataraxia]

I really liked Coach Jeff even though he drew too many plays for Melo...

K-Mart is a disaster now, I knew they should have save space and go for Stro.....

they should target Ray in the off-season or JJ.....they need a scorer badly...

Nuggets, biggest dissappointment so far.

but hey on the bright side.....Dre's putting up some good numbers

[Jowe]

I really liked Coach Jeff even though he drew too many plays for Melo...

K-Mart is a disaster now, I knew they should have save space and go for Stro.....

they should target Ray in the off-season or JJ.....they need a scorer badly...

Nuggets, biggest dissappointment so far.

but hey on the bright side.....Dre's putting up some good numbers

Exactly thats what i was saying to everyone about that sign and trade for kenyon. He wasn't worth wasting cap and draft picks on, since they already had a young pf in Nene.

[J@3]

If they didn't trade for Kenyon, they would've signed Matty Neilsen. I hate Kiki! What kind of name is that anyway.

[Micchy_boy]

If they didn't trade for Kenyon, they would've signed Matty Neilsen. I hate Kiki! What kind of name is that anyway.

well in our language Kiki means p*ssy or vag*na.

[air gordon]

K-Mart is a disaster now, I knew they should have save space and go for Stro.....

they should target Ray in the off-season or JJ.....they need a scorer badly...

Exactly thats what i was saying to everyone about that sign and trade for kenyon. He wasn't worth wasting cap and draft picks on, since they already had a young pf in Nene.

kmart a disaster? he isn't a max contract player but hey, if a player like foyle can get ~$40 mil over 5yrs... kmart isn't having such a bad year. most of his numbers are down across the board, but not by much. it should be noted that he's been playing through some injuries

also it's no coincidence that kmart had his best games when andre miller plays likes a point guard instead of a shooting guard.

imo denver needs a playmaker, less shoot happy players, and to stop running iso's for 'melo most of the time

nene is terrible. he's not good enough to not have a last name

[Jing]

If they didn't trade for Kenyon, they would've signed Matty Neilsen. I hate Kiki! What kind of name is that anyway.

well in our language Kiki means p*ssy or vag*na.

lol.
well too bad he's gone, he was a good coach

[Indy]

guess where he started out?

coaching 7th grade girls basketball at my junior high school.

no joke

[Andrew]

So far so good for Cooper, though Allen Iverson's unusually shaky free throw shooting allowed Denver to seal it at the end; I really expected that one to go into OT when both teams were trading baskets in the final two minutes.

[ca_10]

This move really wasn't very surprising... like most people already said despit the record and the playoff appearance there were numerous reports of Coach Bzdelik losing his job...

Well... I think he's a pretty good coach... although I also like Michael Cooper... as a player though... not sure how he'll do as a coach despite his success with the Sparks...

K-Mart was not one of my favorite moves for this year... I think it was bad for both the Nets and the Nuggets... hope Denver can improve though... I liked how they performed last season...

kmart a disaster? he isn't a max contract player but hey, if a player like foyle can get ~$40 mil over 5yrs... kmart isn't having such a bad year. most of his numbers are down across the board, but not by much. it should be noted that he's been playing through some injuries

also it's no coincidence that kmart had his best games when andre miller plays likes a point guard instead of a shooting guard.

imo denver needs a playmaker, less shoot happy players, and to stop running iso's for 'melo most of the time

nene is terrible. he's not good enough to not have a last name

i agree with you totally on this man! I think Miller could be a good playmaker if he only put his mind into it!

o well... gotta go... cheers!

happy new year!

[Ataraxia]

cmon Kiki has done a great job....he made one of the worst ever teams in the nba reach the playoffs the very next season....I think he deserves alot of credit and hes a quality gm.

Bzdelik is a good coach but he didnt suit Denver....he didnt wanna play Skita despite repeated requests from Kiki to play him....now when u draft a guy at No.5 I think u should at least give them some mins....I mean just because your not ready doesnt mean u bench him for practically the whole season....I mean what player isnt going to get depressed(specially when your so young) ???

He didnt get along with most of the Nuggets, yes they did have some respect for him but they didnt admire him and truly respect him....I mean Kobe didnt respect Phil full hearted and thats why Phil got the boot!!.....

The Nuggets need a coach that'll connect with the players, I think George Karl could be the best choice but they should also see how Cooper does because after all heres a coach that got women to listen to him !!!

not a bad game, although wtf was Lil Earl and Rodney doin my takin so many shots when their was a clear pass situation. Oh man and DerMarr Johnson is comin back...I gotta feelin he could get a nice extension deal if he keeps goin on...certaintly starting to show all that talent he had that made him get drafted at No.5 in 00.

[Andrew]

Bzdelik is a good coach but he didnt suit Denver....he didnt wanna play Skita despite repeated requests from Kiki to play him....now when u draft a guy at No.5 I think u should at least give them some mins....I mean just because your not ready doesnt mean u bench him for practically the whole season....I mean what player isnt going to get depressed(specially when your so young) ???

Larry Brown's doing the exact same thing with Darko Milicic, who was drafted even higher.

[Ataraxia]

I know Andrew, I was kinda talkin abt rookies on a whole .....I think Kiki didnt want Skita to turn out like most euro rookies do and be sidelined for like their whole rookie contract then sign with some other team and become a superstar.

[J@3]

Skita has actually shown some ability in competitive games though, much unlike Mr. Milicic. Who I feel really sorry for.

[The GOAT]

Michael Cooper won his first game

[Indy]

Skita has actually shown some ability in competitive games though, much unlike Mr. Milicic. Who I feel really sorry for.

as do i, darko is very talented and he deserves minutes. once he finds his way to a new team he will live up to his potential. He just needs to catch a break find a team with a hole at his position and hope someone takes a gamble on him.

sorry for going off topic back to bzdelik