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behind-the-scenes details behind Pozzecco’s dismissal, saying the coach had given up and just wanted his money, refusing to implement the strategy he had agreed upon with the club.

Credit Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic; AP – Scanpix
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne dismissed head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco just over two months after hiring him to replace TJ Parker. The club’s president, Tony Parker, openly criticized the Italian coach for his stint in the club.

In an interview with Yann Ohnona from L’Equipe, Parker provided the details behind the move and bashed Pozzecco.

“We knew for two or three weeks that things couldn’t go any further. We took the risk of signing someone we didn’t know and who wasn’t my first choice. Everyone knows that we wanted Gordon Herbert,” the Hall of Famer explained. “We had to take a coach because there weren’t many people on the market.”

“When after two weeks he told me he wanted a tighter squad, eleven, twelve [players], that eight or nine were really going to play, and that Nando [de Colo] would play all [French] Championship matches, I knew it wouldn’t work, that it would end like that. No club in the EuroLeague plays like that. It’s unrealistic and simply impossible to play three matches a week with nine players,” Parker said.

The disagreements began early on, the San Antonio Spurs legend shared. One of the main crossroads between Pozzecco and the management was his idea to use fewer players during the games and use the veteran players more.

“We tried to split the pear in two by separating ourselves from Frank Jackson, who, for me, was talented, who was sure to improve but who the coach no longer wanted. You try to go a little in his direction. On the other hand, afterward, he wanted to cut Boris Dallo. There, I said no,” Parker said. “If Nando, Charles [Kahudi], or someone got injured when we were already the oldest team in the EuroLeague, it was not possible.”

“Then, his attitude became more and more negative, he had difficulty motivating the players, and little by little, they no longer believed in him. In addition, he had decided not to play our prospects. I don’t want any more coaches who do that, it’s not our philosophy. We have the Academy, we must launch those we believe in, like Mbaye [Ndiaye], Noam [Yaacov], that we signed for the long term. It was all already too much,” the operative explained.

Asked whether these terms were discussed with Pozzecco before signing the contract, as such details are often crucial while signing a coach, Parker said Pozzecco agreed to everything back then. Ultimately, the coach didn’t do what he promised to do, Parker says.

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“Of course, we discussed it before. Every time, the coaches say yes, yes, yes. But when reality sets in, they are more selfish and only think about winning matches. During our interviews, he never told me he intended to work with reduced rotation. He said he would play the young guys and didn’t do it,” Parker proclaimed.

The team’s main player, Nando de Colo, picked up multiple injuries during Pozzecco’s tenure – a fact that worried Parker and the management. The 4-time NBA champion wanted to maintain the team’s form throughout the entire season, and Pozzecco’s philosophy clashed with the one Parker wanted to use.

“I was afraid they would get hurt. Nando, Joffrey [Lauvergne], I called them every day. We agreed that if we continued like this, we were going straight into the wall. I even think it’s his fault that Nando got injured. We overused him way too early in the season,” Parker said. “As for the young people, I discussed it with him. I told him to watch Boris’ matches, explained [him] that he was a player capable of playing positions one to three, and he had big matches with Cholet. But honestly, when you see how much he didn’t trust Mbaye and Noam, it makes me think that he never saw them play.”

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Ultimately, ASVEL agreed to pay Pozzecco his full salary for the 2023-24 season. The remaining two years of his deal depended on a clause in June 2024. Hence, the club wasn’t obligated to pay more.

Looking back at Pozzecco’s tenure at the club, Parker feels that the coach had given up.

“I am very, very, disappointed with his performance, with his management of the team. Above all, I find that he has given up. As a competitor, it’s something I can’t understand to give up like that after a month and a half. However, it started with a boost, an electric shock, we won away twice. But you always see the true face of people when it gets difficult,” Parker said.

“We narrowly lost a few matches. This is where you should see the character of a coach, who would inspire the team, convincing the players that it will succeed. A month earlier, he said that the team was good, that we were going to get there. Then, he wanted to change everything. At some point, this is no longer possible. In these circumstances, it’s a shame to wait to get fired instead of resigning. He did it on purpose,” Parker concluded.

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“I contacted him, I spoke with him. But I could see that he wasn’t going to leave on his own. He wasn’t going to leave money on the table. It’s business. So we reached an agreement the day after [the victory against] Kaunas. We gave him his contract year. His two more years depended on a clause. We knew we were taking a risk, we wouldn’t have signed a coach for three years without a way out,” Parker said.