During Kiki Vandeweghe’s nearly five-year stint in the Nuggets’ front office, there was one thing that remained a constant during the good times and bad: a positive attitude.
Friday was the worst of times for the former Nuggets general manager as he and the franchise mutually agreed not to extend his contract, which expires Aug. 1. And despite not having good reason career-wise to feel overly upbeat Saturday morning, Vandeweghe again found that positive attitude.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s a tough day for a lot of reasons,” Vandeweghe said. “You want to stay positive, but you put your heart into something for five years you deeply care about. Now you want to see that flourish and continue. You want to be a part of that.
“I really believe this is going to be a successful team for a long time. If this team stays healthy, which it will, they will be successful for a long time and big time.
“But I tell you what really helps is to have a support system. And I woke up early this morning and my wife said good morning. The best thing about it, I had a little guy (his son) jump on me. There is nothing better than that. It’s been nice because I’ve got lots of calls from Denver and throughout the league. That’s been great. The friends I have in this league and city are irreplaceable to me.”
Before being hired by Denver, Vandeweghe worked for the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant and player development coach. Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke hired him Aug. 9, 2001, despite his lack of front-office experience.
Vandeweghe helped transform the Nuggets from laughingstocks to a franchise that made three straight playoff appearances, won a division title and landed young star Carmelo Anthony. While Vandeweghe and Kroenke didn’t see eye to eye during the latter part of his GM days, Vandeweghe said he will forever be indebted to his former boss for this opportunity.
“I’ve said it so many times, I’m very appreciative to Stan for giving me a chance,” Vandeweghe said Friday. “Nobody can ever take that away. I will always be appreciative of that.”
He also expressed thanks to the players and fans.
“I’ll always have the Nuggets in my heart no matter what I do,” said Vandeweghe, who played for the Nuggets from 1980-84 and made two all-star appearances. “Five years ago one of our missions was to make this a family. That was very important to all of us. I’m going to miss that very, very much.”
Vandeweghe, a self-described gym rat, wants to stay in the game. At this time, there are no GM vacancies in the NBA. However, there has been speculation Trail Blazers general manager John Nash might not be back, and that the Blazers could have new ownership soon, too. Vandeweghe is a former Portland player.
“I really think I need a couple days to talk to my family,” Vandeweghe said. “My wife reminded me that I haven’t taken a vacation since I’ve been here. My vacation has been going in the gym. I’m going to take some time with family, which is wonderful, and figure out what’s next.
“The one thing I know is I love basketball.”
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
