Report: Rockets, Nuggets execs candidates to become Nets GM

Executives from the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets have emerged as leading candidates for the Brooklyn Nets' general manager job, Yahoo Sports reported Monday.

Denver Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Houston Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas are serious candidates as the Nets seek to fill the vacancy by the NBA's Feb. 18 trade deadline, the website reported.

Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry have previously been identified as candidates for the position, but Karnisovas and Rosas have both international connections and experience in reshaping rosters. With the Nets short on picks in upcoming drafts, the ability to import talent from overseas is seen as a priority.

Karnisovas, a native of Lithuania, speaks several languages and has strong relationships with Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov's advisers, the website reported. He spent two years as USA Basketball's global basketball scout.

In his 13th year with the Rockets, Rosas helped reshape the roster in the post-Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady era. He replaced Karnisovas as the international player scout for USA Basketball in 2015.

Colangelo is a two-time NBA executive of the year who worked for the Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors. Ferry was GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, who fired him in a scandal related to a racially insensitive scouting report read on a management conference call.