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The nature of Edalat’s relationship with VanDeWeghe is also unclear. In one email attached as an exhibit, Edalat refers to VanDeWeghe as “one of my dearest friends,” but the filing provides little other detail about the origins of their relationship. VanDeWeghe did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The NBA has disputed the idea it needed Edalat to make key connections with Emirates. In its response to Edalat’s attorney, the league wrote the airline had sponsored NBA games in China in 2012 and 2013. The NBA also pointed to a 2013 report about discussions between the league and Emirates about a possible partnership.
Still, according to the complaint, after receiving VanDeWeghe’s email, Edalat began working on the NBA’s behalf, he says. He engaged Zaki Kada, a longtime friend and business contact in Dubai, who then reached out to Salem Ghanem Al-Marri, a former colleague who worked as Emirates’s head of planning, aeropolitical, and industry affairs. Kada, according to the complaint, used that connection to inquire about approaching Boutros Boutros, an SVP at the airline. Emirates, according to the complaint, requested something official from the NBA confirming its interest. On May 1, 2014, VanDeWeghe sent a letter on league letterhead to Clark, Emirates’s president, saying the NBA was “excited about the possibility of a potential partnership” and that its “focus is for Emirates to become the exclusive airline sponsor and partner of the NBA.”
Draymond Green when he got suspended in 2016 Finals: Because this was so big, I actually talked to Kiki Vandeweghe. I said, 'Kiki, I'm going to come in your place of work tomorrow. I'm going to fly to New York today and I want you to get on your knees how I was on my knees in the position that I was in trying to get up and I'm going to come and step my leg over your shoulder, and I want to see what your reaction is. Would your arm go up like get the hell off me?' I said, 'if that's your reaction, you can't suspend me. If it's not your reaction, you could suspend me for the rest of the Finals.' He didn't let me step over his shoulder and he still suspended me.
“I didn’t know anything about the (NBA) draft,’’ Tskitishvili said about his thinking in early 2002. “Then Marc Fleisher (Tskitishvili’s agent) is telling me I could be a top-10 pick. … And then people were writing articles on me that I could be like Nowitzki or Gasol and I’m just an 18-year-old kid. … I knew I was a very good, talented guy but I never talked about myself like I’m the best.” Tskitishvili had turned 19 when Denver selected him with the No. 5 pick on June 26, 2002. The Nuggets, then under second-year general manager Kiki VanDeWeghe, had dispatched a number of veterans to carve out salary-cap room for 2003.
Looking back, Tskitishvili doesn’t point the finger at anyone on the Nuggets. He said he wants to give “Kiki my flowers” because he “changed my life” even though it didn’t work out in the NBA. “I don’t call myself a bust because you were expecting a 19-year-old kid to come out there to dominate,’’ Tskitishvili said of the enormous expectations that surrounded him. “I blame myself in that I should have done better. But I didn’t have much knowledge back then. I didn’t know about hiring a coach to work with me extra hours in the gym or somebody to guide me off the court. … If you draft somebody No. 5 from Europe, you have to raise him like a child. It was like coming from a different planet.”
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Jorge Sierra: Shai passed all these players in playoff scoring last night: Derrick White, Bill Cartwright, Boris Diaw, Derek Harper, Kiki Vandeweghe, Phil Chenier, Tobias Harris, Jeff Mullins, Dennis Rodman, Alvan Adams, Bob Love, Trevor Ariza, Zelmo Beaty. He's No. 216 all-time now.
Jorge Sierra: Russell Westbrook tied Kobe Bryant in steals last night and is now No. 16 in NBA history. Also: Brook Lopez moved ahead of Steve Nash in scoring for No. 95. Nikola Jokic passed Kiki Vandeweghe and Pete Maravich for No. 128.
Jorge Sierra: Chris Paul tied Kobe Bryant in three-pointers last night for No. 28 all-time. Also: Devin Booker moved ahead of Derek Harper, Rasheed Wallace, Amare Stoudemire and Kiki Vandeweghe in scoring for No. 124 in NBA history.
“There were so many,’’ said Kiki VanDeWeghe, then the Nuggets’ general manager and now an NBA special adviser. “I’m sure I probably had a bunch and my pockets full (at the lottery).’’
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Perched on a hillside in one of Los Angeles’ most booming residential areas, the edgy abode where long-retired hoopster Kiki VanDeWeghe lives is up for grabs. The Encino, CA, residence he shares with interior designer wife Peggy VanDeWeghe is on the market for $5,195,000. The listing is being handled by Michelle Schwartz and Mauricio Umansky, of The Agency.
Did you get a chance to talk to Kiki VanDeWeghe, who held the job previously, for some words of wisdom? Joe Dumars: Kiki and I talked on the phone for a long time, first week or two on the job. And then ironically [July 9], we sat at a summer league game together. We talked a long time about different aspects of the job. Just a well-rounded conversation, which was great because I enjoyed talking to Kiki. It was good. Yeah, we’ve had a couple of really good conversations about the job.
Marc J. Spears: Kiki VanDeWeghe has decided to transition from his position as the NBA’s Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations to a new role as a special advisor to Byron Spruell, the NBA’s President, League Operations. VanDeWeghe has held the EVP role since August 2015.
Steve Popper: NBA announces that Kiki VanDeWeghe is stepping away from Exec VP role to become a special advisor to Byron Spruell.
