Sep 07, 2006 7:58 PM EST

Mark Warkentien officially took over Thursday as the Nuggets vice president of basketball operations after serving in an interim role since last spring.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," Warkentien told The Denver Post. "This is a place I wanted to be. I'd like for this, Denver, to be my last stop."

The Nuggets also announced that Rex Chapman would be the vice president of player personnel and Bret Bearup would be an official advisor. Bearup has long had a close relationship with owner Stan Kroenke. The team also promoted Masai Ujiri to director of international scouting. Assistant general managers Jeff Weltman and David Fredman were let go.

Via Denver Post