So Kiki, how do you like that general manager job in Denver now?

It must be like being the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Jenin. Or the head of tourism for trips through the Louisiana swampland.

I mean, four coaches turned you down? Four? The only person rejected more often is Charles Manson at his parole hearings.

First, it was Utah assistant coach Phil Johnson. Then Nets assistant Eddie Jordan. Then Dallas assistant Donnie Nelson. Then Dallas assistant Del Harris.

	Del Harris was the latest to tell the Nuggets thanks but no thanks.

OK, wait a second here. Two of Dallas's assistant coaches turned you down, Kiki, to remain with the Mavs. What is Cubes doing, playing some Jedi Mind tricks on his guys down there.

What that basically means, technically, is that Cubes now has three head coaches on his staff. And Kiki, well, we hate to say it, but you have, um, none.

And Kiki, I mean the latest dude, Del? Well, there was a reason they called him Dull Harris out in L.A. And he turned you down? Kind of like Cindy Crawford being blown off by Mini-Me, isn't it?

This can't be this hard, can it? I had a conversation with Paul Westphal once when he was coaching in Seattle, and I suggested to him that being an NBA coach is almost more prestigious than being the head of a country. You should have seen his eyes light up with pride when I said that.

After all, I argued, there are, I don't know, several hundred countries in the world (so sue me, I didn't call the U.N. to get an exact number), each with a different leader. And there are only 29 NBA head coaching jobs. Some NBA coaches have more devout and substantially larger followings than some of these countries, which are, to quote Arthur, "so small Rhode Island would kick its ass in a war."

And yet, Kiki, there are four fellas out there who have rejected you more readily than Shaq did Todd MacCulloch in the NBA Finals.

In a way, I feel sorry for you, Kiki. I mean, we all know you and good guy Dave Fredman are handcuffed by the mess that Dan Issel left behind. At the same time, it doesn't really look like you are offering any promises to prospective candidates.

"The Nuggets were not making the commitment they would have to for me to leave Dallas," Harris told the Denver Post.

What that means is this: Kiki unloaded a bunch of bad contracts, took on a bunch of bad players or young players who likely are not going to mix, and then won't assure a coach that he is not going to get fired when he unsuccessfully tries to figure out how to put those players together on a court.

They tried that once in Denver already, and his name was Mike D'Antoni. Just a cursory look at the Nuggets' roster makes their starting lineup look like this: Marcus "I'm always hurt" Camby at center; Juwan "I make $256,000 a game" Howard at power forward; James "Ring Around The" Posey at small forward; George McCloud at shooting guard; Mark "I've been doing this for a very very very very very long time" Jackson at point guard.

With rookies Nene Hilario, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Predrag Savovic coming off the bench.

One word: Ugh!

Three words: Move over Warriors.

Yes, Kiki has worked it so that the Nuggets are going to have tons of cap space next summer, perhaps more than anybody in the league. And he most certainly is using that as an enticement for any incoming coach.

But let's face it, Denver does not exactly have a superior history of quality NBA basketball, and the town is not exactly attractive to young black men who are about to make several million dollars a year. You thought Chicago had a difficult time luring free agents, wait until Denver makes a run at it next summer.

	Kiki, if you are going to go after the best coaches the league has to offer, you better make sure they have an ironclad, non-fireable contract for at least five years, because that is the minimum amount of time it is going to take whomever accepts the job to drag the Nuggets out of the scrap heap.

I mean, Kiki, if you are going to go after the best coaches the league has to offer, you better make sure they have an ironclad, non-fireable (is that a word?) contract for at least five years, because that is the minimum amount of time it is going to take whomever accepts the job to drag the Nuggets out of the scrap heap and maybe in the playoffs.

Unless that happens, you can count on the top guys continuing to treat you like a pinata. Because there have been too many instances in this league of good coaches taking jobs in bad circumstances and their coaching careers suddenly being over and their reputations tainted as poor head coaches.

I was talking to Sonics assistant Bob Weiss earlier this year. Weiss had been the head coach in San Antonio the year before David Robinson got to town, on a team where Willie Anderson was the best player. Weiss was fired and Larry Brown took over. Robinson joined the team and Brown was a genius.

Now, was Weiss a bad coach? Not necessarily. He was a victim of circumstances. And he also will be an assistant for the rest of his career.

Now, the speculation is that Kiki may turn to Clyde Drexler to be the coach. Let me say one thing: Bad decision. Really bad decision.

There is a reason that Clyde did not work out well at the University of Houston. Hell, not only did he not work out, he didn't even win. It's one thing for a coach to not be very good at his job. It's quite another for him to be considered lazy. Clyde, according to those in the know in Houston, was considered both.

But I have an idea, Kiki. Try this: Offer the job to Todd Bozeman, who seems to have been blackballed in the coaching ranks. At this point, Todd has to be like Life Cereal's Mikey -- he'll coach anything.

And if he turns you down, then you know you really have problems.

Frank Hughes, who covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.