David Fredman said he is the reason Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will interview Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson for the Nuggets' vacant head coaching job today. But the Nuggets aren't doing him a favor by making Johnson a candidate, Fredman said; he is the one doing the Nuggets a favor.

Fredman, who spent 15 years doing player evaluations and coaching for the Jazz before taking a job as Vandeweghe's assistant last year, figures the longtime Jazz assistant fits Vandeweghe's coaching criteria exactly -- only the Nuggets' GM didn't know it.

"The coach I want is a teacher who really knows the NBA game, someone who will take the time and energy to make young players better," Vandeweghe told the Denver Post. "Teaching is so important, with the youth in this league and in this draft."