Denver ? George Karl was close Wednesday night to finalizing a deal to coach the Denver Nuggets, and he could be on the bench by the end of the week.

Karl, who has been out of the NBA for nearly two years, was expected to work out the final details of the contract this morning and an announcement could come later in the day, a source close to the team said.

Karl met with Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe on Monday and Tuesday in Chicago to talk about the job, and the two worked out most of the contract details before the Nuggets lost to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Karl has won 708 games in 16 NBA seasons — 13th all-time — and helped Seattle reach the playoffs in 1991-92 after a 20-20 start.