Kiki Vandeweghe has received the Nuggets’ blessing to discuss Cleveland’s vacant presidency with the Cavaliers. But it appears the Cavaliers remain set on Detroit coach Larry Brown for the job and the likelihood remains that Vandeweghe will continue in his current position as Denver’s general manager.
Vandeweghe said Sunday he had no response to a Sports Illustrated report that suggested Brown might change his mind about the Cavs’ presidency.
“I just don’t want to comment on it,” Vandeweghe said. “My focus right now is on this draft and improving.”
A source close to the situation said that owner Stan Kroenke granted Vandeweghe permission to talk to Cleveland after Brown became the clear front-runner, and that Brown remains so despite the Sports Illustrated report.
Though Brown’s departure for Cleveland is not official, several media outlets have reported he will go. Brown surfaced as the clear favorite within a week of May 18 reports the Nuggets had denied Cleveland permission to speak with Vandeweghe, who remains under contract with the team through 2006.
Within a day of the initial news about Vandeweghe, Portland, another team rumored to be interested in him, announced it would exercise an option to extend the expiring contract of general manager John Nash.
Asked whether Vandeweghe had received permission to talk with other teams, Kroenke Sports Enterprises senior vice president Paul Andrews replied, “My only comment is and remains to be that Kiki is under contract.”
Questions about Brown’s decision arose Friday after reports that Washington director of player personnel Milt Newton probably would not become the Cavs’ new GM. Newton is a close ally and former player of Brown’s.
Footnotes
The Nuggets worked out a quartet of forwards Sunday – Ersan Ilyasova of Turkey, Louisville’s Ellis Myles, Georgia Tech’s Isma’il Muhammad and Ben Ortner of Metro State.
Ilyasova is the only projected first-round draft pick of the group. But he is 18 years old, coming off ankle surgery and having averaged seven minutes per game for Ulker Istanbul of the Turkish league.
With two late first-round draft picks, Vandeweghe said he would consider taking a foreign player but letting him develop for another year in Europe. Vandeweghe said the disappointing play of 2002 first-round pick Nikoloz Tskitishvili, another young, inexperienced European, would have no bearing on the team’s actions.
“A lot of people compare things to Skita when it’s a very, very different situation,” he said. “You can’t be gun-shy. It’s not the fifth pick of the draft and you’re not swinging for the fences, which we were doing for a couple of years.
“You’re talking about the 20th or 22nd pick. That’s someplace where you could gamble on a European guy or a South American guy, put him in Europe for a year or even have him here for a year and see what he becomes.”
Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
