NBA COACHING Mo Cheeks reported to be in 76ers' sights

There are eight coaching openings in the NBA.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
PHILADELPHIA -- Although the Philadelphia 76ers would not discuss the possibility Tuesday, Maurice Cheeks is their choice to succeed Larry Brown, who resigned Monday after six seasons.
Cheeks could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but two NBA sources familiar with the Sixers' search confirmed that Cheeks, who is under contract with the Portland Trail Blazers for another season, is in their sights.
Other candidates the Sixers could target are television analyst Jeff Van Gundy, Sixers assistants Randy Ayers and Mike Woodson, and Memphis Tigers coach John Calipari, a former Sixers assistant. Other options could be Allen Iverson's college coach, John Thompson, or former New Orleans Hornets coach Paul Silas.
Leaderless
Cheeks is in a three-year, $9 million deal with the Trail Blazers, who are without a team president and general manager.
The Blazers said Monday night that the Sixers had not contacted them about Cheeks' availability.
Billy King, the Sixers' new president, would not comment on the team's coaching search or potential candidates.
There are eight coaching openings in the NBA -- including jobs with the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers, both of whom have interim coaches, and Charlotte, which will begin playing in 2004-05.
When he resigned Monday, Brown immediately jumped atop the list of coaches looking for work, including Van Gundy and Mike Dunleavy, both of whom interviewed earlier this week with Houston.
Former Atlanta and Cleveland coach Mike Fratello also reportedly would like to return to the coaching sideline, and, as always, several top NBA assistants are looking to jump to a head coaching position.
But the Sixers would like to acquire Cheeks. In addition to his playing career with the Sixers, Cheeks was an assistant with the team for seven seasons until taking the Portland job before the 2001-02 season. The Blazers went 49-33 in Cheeks' first season as coach and 50-32 this season, losing in the first round of the playoffs to Dallas in seven games.
No hints
Sixers forward Keith Van Horn spoke Monday with Brown and Tuesday with King, but he had little clue which way the Sixers were leaning.
"They didn't mention any particular names to me," Van Horn said. "I think [King] really waited until [Brown] made the final decision before he started the process. I really believe he's just starting."