Erdem Can: 'Zeljko Obradovic would do well in the NBA' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Trey Kamberling - Utah Jazz, Partizan NIS Belgrade Credit Trey Kamberling - Utah Jazz, Partizan NIS Belgrade

The new Turk Telekom head coach Erdem Can just returned from his one-year stint in the NBA as an assistant coach at the Utah Jazz and gave interviews with various media outlets like Sports Digitale and Tivibu during the week.

As the new head of Turk Telekom, Can is preparing for a big step in his career in the BSL and the EuroCup. He shared the reasons behind his decision to return to Turkey from Utah Jazz.

"I was in search of a new vision for myself after I learned that Quin Snyder was taking one year off from coaching in NBA," Can told. "Turk Telekom front office asked me about this job and told me about their willingness to build a well-designed team that is hungry for success, and that could be a good representation for Ankara basketball."

"Believe me, Ankara has deep roots for Turkish basketball, a grave culture where I was brought up. We needed to bring that spirit back. I think something is more important than the results, a team that really gives the best effort," he added.

The former assistant coach of Zeljko Obradovic at Fenerbahce also shared some special stories from the days when the duo worked together and reasserted his firm belief that the Serbian coaching ability to do well in the NBA.

"When Zeljko first came to Fenerbahce, we did not know each other very well back then. I was an assistant coach at PAOK, and he was the head coach of Panathinaikos, that was the only acquaintance we had," he said.

"He asked for a report about our players and the other players in the Turkish league. I got very excited, and with that enthusiasm, I did not sleep that night to prepare two big boxes of DVDs containing detailed reports about each player.

The next morning, I found him in the hotel where he stayed at 08.00 am. I also prepared a booklet containing his offensive playbook back in Panathinaikos. He smiled and said, 'Are you giving me my own playbook?'. Then he requested me to share that booklet with the other assistant coaches," Can revealed.

Credit Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

"As a person who has an experience in the NBA, my prior stance on the question of whether he can make it there never changed. He surely can do it," Can underlined.

"The best part is that he can adapt to any situation on any given day. This can go before the game or in-game adjustments as well. He has always Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D."

Secondly, he always maintains a certain standard on his approach to the players, and he is consistent in that. He never says 'excellent' about one player's effort, but he never misses what the player does correctly and wrongly on the court.

Maybe, the key thing about being a perfectionist is not to use the word 'perfect' at any time.

"For those reasons, I still think that his ability to adapt to the conditions would let him do well in the NBA. Certainly, his behavior and approach would be different to the players and the club, from Europe, that is for sure," Can justified his opinion.

The new Turk Telekom head coach also pointed out a detail that would be very important for Obradovic.

"I don't think he can coach a team with no targets. Some teams are tanking or rebuilding in the NBA. He never likes to lose," Can admitted. "For instance, he can do quite well in a team like Dallas, San Antonio, or OKC. The same goes with the Miami Heat, which is a franchise that I really like with certain principles and plays in the off-ball game."

"But also, the hiring procedure can be a problem as well. He won't be willing to get into the multi-layered procedure of NBA job hiring. There will often be first, second, and even third interviews with various candidates.

That won't fit with Obradovic. Therefore, the franchises need to consider him as the primary option, without any further complications in the selection," Can concluded.

Erdem Can is going for his second stint in the BSL as a head coach after his Olin Edirne years (2010-12).

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