When the Denver Nuggets decided to part ways with Mike Malone on April 8, David Adelman was thrust into a difficult situation. With 15 years of experience on an NBA bench, Adelman is no stranger to the league.
Adelman was tasked with leading a Nuggets team that was left reeling following Malone’s exit into the postseason. Under his leadership, the Nuggets forced the Oklahoma City Thunder to a seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals.
On May 22, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Adelman has been permanently hired as the Nuggets’ head coach.
“The Denver Nuggets and interim David Adelman have agreed on a deal to make Adelman the franchise’s next head coach, sources tell ESPN,” Charania reported on X. “Adelman went 3-0 in regular season after taking over for Michael Malone and won a playoff series, leading Denver to one win from the West finals…Nuggets were impressed with Adelman’s work as interim coach and moved forward swiftly with him as the full-time coach, sources said. Denver will take a period of time now after the season to sort through its general manager hire.”
After taking a difficult situation in his stride, Adelman has earned his chance to lead Denver’s roster. He proved himself to be a keen tactician throughout the postseason and appeared to have the support of the playing staff. Of course, his nine-year tenure with the franchise likely helped smooth the transition.
Adelman will now have a whole summer to begin planning how to implement his style onto a roster that boasts Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Denver will likely expect the roster to be a contender next season, which doesn’t give Adelman much wiggle room in terms of developing his team and implementing a totally new approach.
Nevertheless, Denver has given him an opportunity to prove himself as a head coach in the NBA. Those opportunities are rare, especially when the best player in the world is on your roster. Adelman must grab this chance with both hands. He has the roster to succeed. A summer of strong recruitment would also be ideal.
Denver has a lot of reasons to be excited, and Adelman should be near the top of that list.
