Mike Malone, former head coach of the Denver Nuggets. Fired in April, his replacement was announced today.
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DENVER, CO - MARCH 12: Head Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets looks on from the sidelines during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena on March 12, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Having fallen at the semi-final stage of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Denver Nuggets begrudgingly began an offseason in which they had a lot of work to do. And perhaps the first item on the agenda was deciding on who their next head coach would be.
A mere three games before the end of the regular season, they took the unprecedented step of firing both their head coach Mike Malone and their general manager, Calvin Booth. For the remainder of the regular season and their entire playoff run, long-term assistant David Adelman was made the interim head.
Today, Shams Charania of ESPN revealed that the “interim” tag would be lifted from Adelman’s job title. The Nuggets will confirm Adelman as the franchise’s next head coach, the 23rd in franchise history, as they feel he did enough in his time as the interim to merit a longer look.
Shams Charania
The Denver Nuggets and interim David Adelman have agreed on a deal to make Adelman the franchise’s next head coach, sources tell ESPN. 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.
Bad Vibes Permeated The Nuggets’ Season
Reports indicate that Malone was fired due to the “bad vibes” emanating from the Nuggets, and that he and booth “never liked each other”. Adelman’s first job was to dispense with those vibes, and make the Nuggets into a more harmonious unit. From there, if he could show some tactical nous on the court, he could make the position his own.
In his short tenure as the interim coach, Adelman did both of those things. He won his three regular season contests, and was able to take the juggernaut that is the Oklahoma City Thunder all the way to seven games in their postseason series.
The Thunder ultimately prevailed, as the Nuggets’ shallow depth – and a badly-timed injury to postseason clutch superstar Aaron Gordon – meant they ran out of legs. But Adelman had the Nuggets playing far better defence, and turned a deflated team lumbering through a disappointing season into the toughest test that the best team in the league could face. It was a step in the right direction, and he has been rewarded accordingly.
Time To Raise The Standards
A step in the right direction, however, is not enough.
Two years removed from a title of their own, the Nuggets have slipped backwards, to the point that there is a clear gap between them and the few at the very top. Denver’s superstar and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic has been very clear on that. And the team’s ownership structure today let him know they heard him.
In comments made at a media availability session, Nuggets President Josh Kroenke made clear the standard to which he wants the Nuggets to be judged. Addressing the concerns of Jokic and of the fanbase as a whole, Kroenke explained how a lack of depth and salary cap issues hindered the team’s ability to add talent, but offered no defence of their second round exit.
In Kroenke’s own words, “when you have the roster that we had, anything outside of a championship is not acceptable”.
To that end, Adelman will return next season able to put his own imprint on the team from training camp onwards, but also with the pressure of expectation. As great as he is, Jokic is entering the back nine of his career, and the Nuggets have stopped improving.
Adelman showed enough in his audition to win the confidence of the ownership enough to earn a promotion to being the full-time head coach, yet as Kroenke said, anything outside of a championship is not acceptable. For a rookie head coach, it is quite the demand to issue.