David Adelman apparently still has some wiggle room in Denver.
The “early sense” is that the Denver Nuggets head coach Adelman will be returning for another season in charge, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post reported on Saturday. This news comes after Denver just lost in the first round to an injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves team.
Adelman, 44, is the son of Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Rick Adelman. He started in Denver as an assistant coach in 2017 and was a part of the team that won the NBA championship in 2023.
The Nuggets then made the decision to fire longtime head coach Michael Malone late last season. That led to Adelman taking over as the interim head coach before later earning the full-time job after the season.
Under Adelman’s leadership last season, Denver won a first-round playoff series over the LA Clippers but lost in the second round to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder. This season (Adelman’s first full one in charge), Denver went 54-28 but capped things off with that disappointing first-round loss to Minnesota.
Adelman has not inspired a whole lot of confidence with his coaching performance, particularly with the Nuggets struggling badly in the clutch this season (with Adelman even facing calls for his firing after one especially bad coaching decision in March). But at least for the time being, a coaching change is not on the table in Denver.
