Given the positive performance of the Denver Nuggets since David Adelman assumed the role of interim head coach, it would be quite surprising if he is not appointed to the position permanently. The team dismissed coach Michael Malone with merely three regular season games remaining. Under Adelman`s guidance, Denver secured victories in all three games, concluding the season with a 50-32 record and earning home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets then defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in a seven-game series and pushed the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to a decisive seventh game.
Following the team`s elimination on Sunday with a 125-93 loss in Game 7 in Oklahoma City, Denver forward Aaron Gordon publicly stated his support for Adelman to take on the coaching job long-term.
`I love DA,` Gordon told reporters. `I hope he`s here next year. I hope he`s our coach.`
Gordon described Adelman as `excellent for us,` expressing his desire for Adelman to have `a whole offseason and a whole training camp to figure out his philosophy.`
Denver effectively countered Oklahoma City`s halfcourt offense by frequently utilizing zone defense. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray commended Adelman, saying he `did a great job,` and highlighted `the different schemes that we came up with.` Murray also praised the players for `keeping a positive attitude and believing in what we can do` after the firings of Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
Murray shared that he was proud of the team`s ability to stay united under Adelman`s leadership.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokić also weighed in, telling reporters:
`It`s a tough spot to be. We had three games to change something. I think he changed energy. I think the guys were woken up a little bit. The guys had more energy. He made us believe in something. And we played good, you know? We played a seven-game series with probably the best team in the NBA, and we had opportunities, we had chances. I think he did a really good job.`
When directly asked about Adelman`s future with the team, Jokić chose not to comment, stating, `It`s above my pay grade.`
Adelman himself told reporters that now was not the time to consider if he would coach next season, deferring to the organization`s `decision-makers [who] will make that decision.` However, he called the preceding six weeks `an incredible experience` and praised the players for striving to succeed rather than becoming fractured.
`To have the buy-in from the guys was really special for me,` Adelman remarked to reporters.
Adelman continued:
`Everyone`s going to remember these Game 7s and the playoff series and all that; I`m going to remember the last three games of the season. Because we showed up in Sacramento in a must-win. We did it. We did it with Memphis on a Friday night. We did it in Houston. Three teams that were vying for position. So those were big-time games. For the guys that quickly to come together and give us this opportunity [is] very special to me. I`ll never forget it.`
Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who said he does not know Adelman personally, stated he was `very impressed with him from a distance` during the series. He noted that the Nuggets players `really had his back` and continued to compete despite significant losses in Game 3 against the Clippers and Game 2 against OKC.
`I just told him on the court how much respect I have for him, after having competed against him in this series,` Daigneault shared.
Denver`s governor and team president, Josh Kroenke, did not directly address the head coaching vacancy when interviewed by ESPN`s Tim MacMahon after the game. However, Kroenke expressed considerable pride in how the Nuggets responded following the coaching and general manager changes.
`Outside of the [2023] championship, this is the most proud I`ve been because these guys have really rallied,` Kroenke told ESPN.
ESPN, citing sources within the league and the team, reported that Adelman is considered a `strong candidate to have the interim tag removed and become the Nuggets` head coach on a permanent basis.`
Jasper Hawthorne