Sunday, February 03, 2002 - Denver Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel was asked to leave Saturday's practice after arriving late, apparently because of a misunderstanding about the starting time.

The Nuggets originally scheduled practice for 1 p.m. Saturday. But interim coach Mike Evans said players were told twice that practice was moved to noon, once in the locker room after losing at Sacramento on Friday night and also on the team plane to Denver.