Dwain Price of the Ft.Worth Star-Telegram reports: Donnie Nelson could find himself with a perplexing choice.

Does he go to Denver to become the Nuggets' head coach? Or does he let Mavericks owner Mark Cuban persuade him to stay here, possibly at his father's expense?

Nelson's father, Mavericks general manager/coach Don Nelson, said Friday that he would drop the coaching reins immediately if it meant Donnie would take over. Donnie Nelson isn't thrilled with that idea.

"I didn't come to Dallas to shorten his career, I came here to extend it," said Donnie Nelson, who was hired as an assistant to his father on Jan. 2, 1998. "He's too good, he's having too much fun, and I've never seen him happier.

Donnie Nelson, who interviewed Friday for the Nuggets' coaching vacancy, is also considered one of the NBA's brightest young minds. That's why Cuban hinted that he'll open up his checkbook and add more money to Nelson's approximately $500,000 annual salary - and possibly promise him that he'll be the next Mavericks coach when Don Nelson's coaching contract expires after the 2002-03 season - to persuade him to stay.

"I think [Donnie] would be a great coach," Cuban said. "That's why we are going to try to work with him to keep him here."

Because more NBA teams are showing interest in international players, Donnie Nelson is becoming a more valuable commodity. He might have more ties to foreign coaches and players than anyone in the NBA, and he is the main reason All-Star Dirk Nowitzki of Germany is with the Mavericks.

Of course, Donnie Nelson is intrigued about the possibility of running his own team. But he doesn't want to end his father's coaching career. He also believes the Mavericks are close to winning an NBA title, something he dearly wants on his father's r?sum?.

"When you've got a really sweet thing happening, and the chemistry is as good as it is, and the basketball is really clicking, why should you put an end to something like that?" Donnie Nelson said. "... And the creativity and ingenuity that Mark has brought in a very short period of time has been nothing short of miraculous. You put two minds together like that, special things happen."

But put two offers together - an offer from the Nuggets and an offer from Cuban - and Donnie Nelson might soon find himself in a perplexing situation.