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No decisions yet Blazers not in hurry to fill head coaching vacancy
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Portland Trail Blazers general manager Bob Whitsitt has denied that he has offered the team's head coaching job to John Lucas or anyone else, and the team doesn't appear in a hurry to make a hire. "I have not offered it to anybody, and I'm sure that tonight I'll hear another report that I've hired somebody else," Whitsitt said Thursday. NBC's Peter Vecsey reported Wednesday night that the Blazers would offer the coaching position to Lucas, currently an assistant with the Nuggets, within 24 hours. It didn't happen, Whitsitt said. "I've got a lot of things going on. It's not like 24 hours a day I'm working on a coach," Whitsitt said. "I'm spending as much or more time on the draft, which is coming up on us also. Our goal has been to try to get it done by the draft [June 27], and that's still the goal." Lucas apparently is deciding whether to take the job in Portland or Cleveland. An NBA management source told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Lucas has begun contract negotiations with the Cavaliers. Other candidates for the Portland job include former NBA coaches Chuck Daly, Mike Fratello and Lionel Hollins, Magic assistant Johnny Davis and Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders has decided not to pursue the Blazers' and Cavaliers' vacancies and will stay with the Wolves. The Blazers fired Mike Dunleavy as coach on May 8 after Portland was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Lakers. Earlier this week, Lucas met with Cavs owner Gordon Gund and general manager Jim Paxson. Lucas interviewed for the Trail Blazers' job last week. Lucas, 47, has had two previous stints as an NBA head coach, most recently with Philadelphia in 1996. He has a combined 136-171 record with the San Antonio Spurs (1992-94) and 76ers. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer also reported that Lucas had been offered the Cavs' job in its Thursday editions. The paper said Cavs legal counsel Dick Watson has begun talks with Lonnie Cooper, Lucas' agent. Cooper did not return a message left Thursday by the AP. Cleveland's coaching search is approaching the two-month mark, but there finally seems to be an end in sight. The Cavs fired Randy Wittman on April 19 -- just hours after the final game of his second straight dismal season in Cleveland.
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