GM fears others may follow Van Exel's lead

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Dec 12, 2001 | by Thomas Harding

DENVER - Kiki Vandeweghe hears Nick Van Exel. But the Denver Nuggets general manager has no plans to trade the team's starting point guard and leading scorer.

Van Exel created a stir Saturday night in Cleveland when he said he is frustrated with losing and wants to be traded. The comments came after a 109-99 loss to the Cavaliers, the Nuggets' fourth straight on an Eastern road swing and their eighth in nine games.

Since then, Van Exel hasn't changed his mind. Nor has Vandeweghe, who said Tuesday that no other NBA teams have inquired about Van Exel's availability.

"The positive way is to break down what he (Van Exel) says," Vandeweghe said before Tuesday night's game against Charlotte at the Pepsi Center. "I don't want to lose anymore. I'm frustrated by losing. You've got a guy that comes to play very hard every night. Maybe he gets his teammates going. It it all negative? I don't think so."

What is negative, however, is that on the heels of Van Exel's statements, injured forward Antonio McDyess, who is expected to give the Nuggets a boost when he returns from a knee injury, told a Denver newspaper that he will opt out of his contract at season's end if Van Exel goes.

That sort of ripple effect has Vandeweghe worried.

"All things affect other guys, whether you lose three or four in a row, whether a guy is unhappy, whether a guy isn't getting enough shots, whether he has problems at home," Vandeweghe said. "These are real people with real feelings. But the bottom is when 7 o'clock rolls around, you lace them up and you come to play."