The Denver Nuggets will be looking for a veteran shooting guard this summer to complete their roster for the 2005-06 NBA season.  One obvious candidate for the job is the Mavericks? Michael Finley.

"I still think two-guard is a situation we need to address, which we obviously will attempt to do our best at," general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Wednesday. "There are some positions that should be filled by veteran players."

Rashad McCants has been increasing his value and the Nuggets are a team trying to land the shooting guard.

"It doesn't matter where I play as long as I can be part of the NBA, but it would be a great opportunity to play with my friend Carmelo Anthony," the North Carolina shooting guard said of his chances of landing with Denver in Tuesday's NBA draft.

Whether they like him enough to try to hoist themselves above the 20th and 22nd picks in the draft to land him - or whether they need to - remains to be seen.

"He's a talented guy," assistant general manager David Fredman said. "He's a guy that we're discussing. I can't really talk any more than that."

Buzz around the league Monday had general manager Kiki Vandeweghe talking with teams picking in the low teens about a possible swap. McCants said Monday he has seen special interest from the Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota. Indiana also is interested in acquiring a shooting guard to lessen the loss of Reggie Miller. The Pacers, now slated to pick 17th, are reportedly trying to move up.

But Fredman said Denver is unlikely to pull off a trade before the draft begins and that the team has not necessarily set its heart on climbing up.

"I'm sure we've talked to every team in the league about various scenarios, but we're not close to anything," he said, adding, "We've always been active since we've been around here this time of year and around trade deadlines. It's just exploring all of our options."

Charlotte general manager Bernie Bickerstaff, whose team owns the 13th pick, suggested Monday that nothing was doing on his end.

"We have had plenty of inquiries on 13 - it's a pretty valuable pick - teams wanting to move up to that area," he said. "And we just haven't found anything that we can get romantically involved with."

If the Nuggets do stand pat, Fredman said he believes the team still can land a contributor, pointing to Josh Howard, the Dallas forward who went 29th in the 2003 draft.

"There is a great guy there," Fredman said. "It's up to us to identify him. But realistically, I'm talking personally and I've told Coach (George) Karl, I'm not sure there's any more than 10 of these guys I could personally recommend in this draft and say, 'This guy will be in your rotation, or any playoff team's rotation.' But that doesn't mean there are not good prospects or not guys there who will later prove to be good NBA players."

Nuggets assistant coach Rex Kalamian could be making a jump to Dwane Casey's staff in Minnesota.

"That could happen," Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Sunday, indicating Kalamian could become a Timberwolves assistant by next week. "I think they're very interested in him. Obviously, we would love to keep him."

The Nuggets have become the sneakiest team in this year's draft. Since they hold both the 20th and 22nd pick of the draft, everything that happens in the final third of the first round pivots on what they decide to do.

However, Denver is not counting on finding that shooting guard they desire via free agency, so with the two picks, they could sneak into last part of the lottery and pick up the Clippers' number twelve pick, which would yield Martell Webster or Antoine Wright.

There has been much speculation that the New York Knicks will buy oft-injured shooting guard Allan Houston out of his lofty contract exercising the one-time only provision in the new CBA.  However, according to Houston?s agent, William Strickland, has said the sharpshooter has no intention of retiring.

"Given that amnesty provision, it increases the chances that something could happen," Strickland said over the telephone. "But I do not believe that Allan will retire. He's worked too hard to get back. He still wants to play."

Houston will have to prove himself healthy and if he is successful, he could be a good fit for any team in need of a shooting guard off the bench.

The Nuggets might be able to snatch up a free agent or so after all. The Nuggets' front office is projecting the salary cap to approach $49 million. If so, the Nuggets would have about $8 million to offer a free agent in the first year of a contract.

If this is true the Nuggets need to have a few people in mind. While they won?t be able to snag up Michael Redd or Ray Allen unless a sign and trade happens, 8 Million dollars is a lot more than just the mid-level exemption.

The Nuggets main priority is to sign a two guard to play complement to Andre Miller. Larry Hughes might just be that guy.

Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe will interview with the Cleveland Cavaliers this week at the NBA's predraft camp.

"The Nuggets have permitted Vandeweghe, who has one year left on his contract, to speak with any team, according to a league source close to the situation. The Cavs, according to a source, will interview Vandeweghe one day this week in Chicago during the NBA's predraft camp."

It is possible they will offer him the position of team president or as the General Manager if Pistons coach Larry Brown decides not to join the team as team president.

Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe had no response to the SI.com report on Sunday that suggested he could possibily jump to the Cleveland Cavaliers as their team president.

"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.

League sources have told SI.com's Ian Thompson that Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke has given team president Kiki Vandeweghe permission to interview with other teams.

Vandeweghe is currently in the final year of his contract with the team.

No confirmation has been given from the Nuggets or Vandeweghe on this report though.

The article speculates that the Cleveland Cavaliers might now look at Vandeweghe for the team president post.

As many know, Pistons coach Larry Brown has been rumored to be taking that same job after the playoffs but dispite reports that it is a done deal, both sides have continued to deny it.

The NBA announced today that the Denver Nuggets have been fined $200,000 and head coach George Karl has been suspended for the first three regular season games of the 2005-06 season for violating league rules prohibiting contact between NBA teams and players not yet eligible for the NBA Draft.

The violation occurred on May 16-18, when Coach Karl attended several workouts involving a draft ineligible player at Marquette University.

?George made an innocent mistake but we take full responsibility for these actions,? said team General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe. ?The Denver Nuggets fully respect league rules and regulations and we regret any inadvertent violation that occurred.?