After they were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs on Thursday, one of the immediate reactions to what had just befallen the Denver Nuggets was that coach David Adelman simply must be on the hot seat. Strange as that might sound–Adelman was only hired at the end of last season following the shocking late firing of Michael Malone–the collapse of the Nuggets against a Timberwolves team that was missing Anthony Edwards, its best player, led many to suspect that Adelman was not up to the task of running this team.
Adelman has been a longtime and trusted assistant coach in Denver, going back nine seasons before his surprise promotion last April. But in watching him be outmaneuvered by Chris Finch of the Timberwolves, one Western Conference executive wondered whether he was the right man for the job.
“It’s a big move, moving over that one seat,” the exec said, referring to moving from an assistant’s spot on the bench to a head coach’s spot. “Not everyone is cut out for it, and that just might be the case in Denver.”
David Adelman Defended by Nikola Jokic
But, would the Nuggets really give Adelman the axe after just one season? It is a possibility and, again that notion has been floating around the league this week. The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando pointed out that after the Nuggets lost in Game 6, “hot-seat chatter began to inevitably circulate about the rookie head coach. Adelman has worked for the Nuggets since 2017.”
And Nuggets players did not seem to think that this should land on Adelman, despite the fact that the 54-win regular-season team–one that averaged 122.1 points, most in the NBA–was reduced to a four-game out, one that was held below 100 points three times by Minnesota. The Nuggets had been held under 100 points only twice this year.
Still, star center Nikola Jokic said, “It’s not his fault that we couldn’t rebounds. It’s not his fault that we could not catch the ball where we wanted. So, there is nothing to blame for David Adelman.”
Nuggets Must Make Significant Changes
The Nuggets clearly do need some changes, though, and replacing Adelman is an easy way to start the fix. But Denver is also already over the luxury tax heading into the summer, which means other drastic steps will need to be considered.
A trade of Cam Johnson is certain to be considered, but Denver could also weigh restructuring the roster as a whole around Jokic. That could mean Aaron Gordon hitting the trade market or, perhaps, even star guard Jamal Murray.
The Nuggets agreed to a massive $125 million extension for Christian Braun before the season, but he played only 44 games and appeared to regress this season. He is widely viewed as untradeable, at least until he shows he is healthy and productive again.
Said the executive: “They’re a good team that can score, but they could not guard anyone. It’s not David’s fault, but he also probably was not ready for the kind of mess this is turning into. it’s hard to do but they need to clear out everything they can, fast.
“When a team gets to this point, it usually gets worse before it gets better, and that includes the star. Think of Miami with Jimmy Butler, think of the Bucks and Giannis, Ja Morant in Memphis. They don’t need to trade Joker but they need to get aggressive and change things around him now before it gets to that.”
Nuggets ‘Chatter’ Around Major Shake-Up Grows