Bob Gist said Tuesday that he and Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will stay in the background while Latrell Sprewell and coach George Karl talk.

"There's a higher probability that he'll play for Denver than anywhere else. Not only is it the perfect fit, but the economics are there to make it happen," said Gist, pointing to the Nuggets' available midlevel exception.

Karl said Monday he would like to talk with the free agent. Vandeweghe declined comment.

The Denver Nuggets have waived Luis Flores, one of two players picked up in a trade with Golden State Warriors in February, the team announced Tuesday.

Flores was acquired on Feb. 24, along with Eduardo Najera and a future first-round draft pick in a deal that sent Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Rodney White to Golden State.

Jerome Lewis, the agent for Luis Flores, said he expects the Nuggets to waive the guard today.

If Denver waits until Wednesday, it owes Flores $150,000, and the rest of his $620,000 contract on opening night.

Lewis said Toronto and Utah are interested in Flores.

Denver Nuggets assistant coach Doug Moe has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will have surgery next month. "The prognosis is good and I expect to be in training camp," Moe said Monday in a statement released by the team.
Moe's diagnosis comes five weeks after Denver head coach George Karl had successful surgery to treat the same cancer.

Karl met with Denver media Monday for the first time since his surgery and said he had received a clean bill of health.

"It wakes you up. It slaps you around," Karl said. "There was a period of time when I first found out that you wake thinking of death a lot. It's an uneasy feeling."

Moe is the winningest coach in Nuggets history, 432-357 from 1980 to 1990. He served as a consultant for the team, but when Karl became head coach last season, he coaxed Moe back onto the sideline.

"Because I'm stupid, or something like that," was how the 66-year-old coach explained his decision to return.

Denver Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe spoke last week with Michael Finley, but it wasn't enough.

Finley's agent, Henry Thomas, said Saturday the Nuggets no longer are one of the teams his client, a free-agent shooting guard, is considering. Vandeweghe previously had said Denver's chances of landing Finley were slim.

"He had a good conversation (with Vandeweghe)," Thomas said. "He has a tremendous amount of respect for the team. . . . He had a lot of good choices. He had to narrow that list down."

The Nuggets were not one of the four teams invited to meet with Finley and Thomas last week in Finley's hometown of Chicago. The Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves made pitches, and Finley is expected this week to choose one.

Sid Hartman of the Star-Tribune is reporting that Denver expects Latrell Sprewell to sign with the club and join his friend and former teammate Marcus Camby.

Sprewell had a disappointing 2004-2005 season and the Timberwolves showed no interest in re-signing the former member of the Knicks and Warriors.

Often guarded with his comments during the NBA season, Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony talked openly Friday about the extent of his sorrow after a chain of negative events that plagued him early last season.

Appearing as a guest on ESPN2's Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Anthony said he was "in a shell," "depressed" and "messed up" and hired a professional therapist for a short time. He also met with Nuggets general manager Kiki Vande- weghe.

"I even went to Kiki and said 'I'm lost, I don't know what to do,' " Anthony said.

Vandeweghe offered Anthony two weeks off to collect his thoughts, but Anthony didn't accept. "It would have been the biggest story since Ricky Williams disappearing and smoking marijuana," Anthony said.

Latrell Sprewell appears to have narrowed his search to Denver or simply the Nuggets are the last intersted team.

"I can confirm Latrell has interest and even hopes of playing there," agent Bob Gist said Thursday of Sprewell, who averaged a career-low 12.8 points in 30.6 minutes with Minnesota last season.

Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe confirmed talking to Gist. Gist said Sprewell, who also considers the Los Angeles Lakers a desirable destination, would contact coach George Karl in the near future.

Gist said Sprewell likes the speed of Denver's game, the chance to start at two-guard and former New York teammate Marcus Camby and Karl.

Denver can pay no more than the $5 million midlevel exception, which Gist called "hard to digest," but he added Sprewell could be inclined to take it. The guard, who turns 35 next month, earned $14.6 million last season. But after he turned down a reported $7 million per year deal early last season, the Timberwolves made no effort to re-sign him. Detroit and Houston signed other guards after eyeing him.

"He made it clear that he could not see coming off the bench in Detroit and fitting in there," Gist said. "Not with (his) legs and basketball IQ and love for the game."

The Nuggets have seen a boatload of free-agent shooting guards end up at other addresses this summer. But after teams passed him by as well, Latrell Sprewell seems high on Denver.

"I can confirm Latrell has interest and even hopes of playing there," agent Bob Gist said Thursday of Sprewell, who averaged a career-low 12.8 points in 30.6 minutes with Minnesota last season.

Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe confirmed talking to Gist. Gist said Sprewell, who also considers the Los Angeles Lakers a desirable destination, would contact coach George Karl in the near future.

Gist said Sprewell likes the speed of Denver's game, the chance to start at two-guard and former New York teammate Marcus Camby and Karl.

Denver can pay no more than the $5 million midlevel exception, which Gist called "hard to digest," but he added Sprewell could be inclined to take it. The guard, who turns 35 next month, earned $14.6 million last season. But after he turned down a reported $7 million per year deal early last season, the Timberwolves made no effort to re-sign him. Detroit and Houston signed other guards after eyeing him.

"He made it clear that he could not see coming off the bench in Detroit and fitting in there," Gist said. "Not with (his) legs and basketball IQ and love for the game."

Agent Mark Bartelstein said the Nuggets have inquired about client Eddie House, a free-agent guard. "They're keeping the door open," said Bartelstein, who said the Nuggets also remain interested in free-agent clients Darius Songaila and Mikki Moore.

Tony Dutt's client Nick Van Exel is another possibility.