Spurs Staff Members are Hot Commodities

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Even as the Spurs face what has become a best-of-five Western Conference semifinal series with the Dallas Mavericks minus the home-court advantage, other teams are coveting members of their staff.

Denver owner Stan Kroenke held general manager Kiki Vandeweghe responsible for bringing Kenyon Martin's negativity to the Nuggets, so he ditched the man who turned one of the NBA's worst franchises into a division champion. The move made the Spurs' bright, young assistant GM, Sam Presti, a target for Kroenke's headhunter, along with Spurs director of pro player personnel Dell Demps.

Denver's interest in Presti and Demps is no mere rumor.

The Maloof family council met after the Sacramento Kings pressed the defending champions before falling in six tough games in the first round. It was decided that Rick Adelman had taken the Kings as far as he could push them, so the family dumped a man who won 395 games in eight seasons.

Spurs assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo was immediately included among the candidates to replace Adelman. Three other former NBA head coaches ? Don Nelson, Terry Porter and Eric Musselman ? also are on the informed list of candidates, along with John Whisenant, who coaches the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs.

Truth be told, if Gregg Popovich decided that living within driving distance of Northern California wine country outweighed the stability he has in San Antonio and would make himself available to the Kings, the Maloofs might be willing to pay him more than the $10 million per season Phil Jackson commands from Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Of course, Popovich is under contract to the Spurs through the 2007-08 season. An honorable man, he won't renege on a deal, let alone leave Tim Duncan. </div>

Source

Presti is probably on the top of a lot of team's list. He's the "money-ball" architect behind the Spurs salary cap blueprint.