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Nuggets hire ex-scout Bzdelik as new coach

DENVER -- Jeff Bzdelik, a scout for the Nuggets last season, was introduced Wednesday as the team's coach.

Bzdelik, 49, who has 12 seasons as an NBA assistant in his 25 years of coaching, promised to field a high energy, defensive-oriented squad that will be "the best-conditioned team in this league."

Bzdelik, the Nuggets' East Coast scout last season, was promoted to assistant July 10 and immediately made an impression, using an up-tempo style to lead a team of youngsters to a 6-0 record in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league in Salt Lake City.

He emerged as a front-runner for the head coaching job after four candidates withdrew over a six-week period: assistants Donn Nelson of Dallas, Eddie Jordan of New Jersey, Phil Johnson of Utah and Del Harris of Dallas.

Utah's first-round pick Lopez needs surgery

SALT LAKE CITY -- Jazz first-round draft pick Raul Lopez needs exploratory surgery so doctors can determine the severity of a damaged ligament in his reconstructed right knee.

The injury is believed to be a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, Utah vice president Kevin O'Connor said. Surgery is planned, but O'Connor did not know when or where it will be.

"We're simply trying to establish the extent of the injury," O'Connor said. "We would need to do an arthroscopic procedure to take a look at it."

The 22-year-old Lopez was with the Spanish team, preparing for the upcoming world championships, when he was hurt Saturday.

CAVALIERS: The team matched a six-year, $34-million offer sheet made by the Timberwolves for free-agent guard Ricky Davis.

HAWKS: Atlanta hired Hall of Famer Alex English as director of player personnel. General manager Pete Babcock also announced Dominique Wilkins, the team's all-time leading scorer, will be English's part-time assistant.

NETS: New Jersey exercised its option on forward Kenyon Martin's contract, and will keep him for at least two more seasons.

PISTONS: Detroit signed second-round draft pick Mehmet Okur to a multiyear contract. Terms were not announced.

ROCKETS: When the U.S. national team plays China in an exhibition game tonight, top draft pick Yao Ming, a 7-foot-5 center, will get a rude welcome. "We're going to beat him up," said Detroit's Ben Wallace, the league's top rebounder last season. "We're going to beat him up pretty bad." Yao practiced for more than an hour in the early evening Wednesday. "That's their business," he said of the U.S. team's vows to test his strength and toughness.

SONICS: Forward Ansu Sesay, a late-season pickup by Seattle, signed a two-year contract.

WIZARDS: Center Jahidi White had knee surgery and is expected to miss the first month of the regular season. Second-year center Brendan Haywood is expected to start in his absence.

WNBA

OFFICIAL IMPROVING: Bill Stokes, the referee who collapsed during a playoff game Tuesday, was upgraded from critical to serious condition.

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