The Nuggets will interview Vinny Del Negro this weekend for their coaching vacancy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Del Negro is the third coaching candidate to sit down this week with Tim Connelly, the Nuggets new executive vice president of basketball operations. Lionel Hollins did so on Wednesday, while Brian Shaw had his interview Tuesday.
Del Negro has been out of work for exactly a month, after he and the Clippers parted ways. A client of well-respected agent Lonnie Cooper, Del Negro has also been linked to the Celtics, who could be seeking a head coach if Doc Rivers doesn't return.
When the Clippers let go of Del Negro, they told him they'd do whatever they could to help him find his next job. It appears that policy may wind up benefiting the Clippers as much as Del Negro, since blocking Hollins and Shaw from the Nuggets job could leave them available for the Clippers, who've interviewed the two of them along with Byron Scott. The Clippers are reportedly using the availability of all three candidates as leverage in their negotiations with the Celtics over Rivers.
The Nuggets have suffered from an exodus of coaches and executives in the past month. Former GM Masai Ujiri left to take over the Raptors front office, and Denver forced out coach George Karl. Pete D'Alessandro, who had been serving as an assistant to Ujiri in Denver, became GM of the Kings, bringing another Nuggets executive with him. Today the Kings officially hired Nuggets director of player personnel Mike Bratz as assistant GM, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes.