Portland Trail Blazers Coach Maurice Cheeks received permission today to interview for the Philadelphia 76ers' vacant coaching job, possibly dooming the candidacy of Eddie Jordan, a Nets assistant who interviewed for that same position earlier this week.

Cheeks, a former Sixers star, is believed to be Philadelphia's top choice to replace Larry Brown, who resigned last week as coach and was introduced today as the coach of the Detroit Pistons.

After initially holding him back, Portland gave Cheeks the go-ahead to interview with the Sixers, according to a league source familiar with the discussions.