During his recent appearance on the DNVR Nuggets Podcast, NBA insider Marc Stein revealed that the Nuggets hired Dave Joerger as an assistant because they wanted to add a coach with previous NBA head coaching experience to David Adelman's staff.
"The way that it was explained to me, the mandate came from management that they wanted David Adelman to add someone to the staff who had head coaching experience," Stein said. "So, I heard the same thing. I think that speaks for itself.
"I want to say it was the end of June that I first reported Joerger, but I don't remember exactly when it was, but Dave Joerger was the name I immediately heard."
Dave Joerger picked Nuggets assistant coaching gig over Paris Basketball
As recently announced, Dave Joerger has agreed to become the lead assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets under David Adelman.
BasketNews was the first to report that Joerger has drawn head coaching interest from Paris Basketball. Yet in the end, the longtime NBA coach chose to remain in the United States and help the Western Conference powerhouse led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
"It was pretty interesting because Paris Basketball, which is one of the most robust spenders in the European game, wanted Dave Joerger to be the head coach there," Marc Stein added.
"Of course, Paris Basketball's GM is David Kahn. ... He's the shot caller for Paris Basketball. Tuomas Iisalo in Memphis and Tiago Splitter in Chicago have both been head coaches of that team for David Kahn. Now, Paris Basketball was trying to get Dave Joerger to leave the NBA and become their head coach, and then the Nuggets opportunity emerged."
Joerger offers solid coaching experience as he lands in Denver, having served as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies (2013-2016) and the Sacramento Kings (2016-2019) in the past.
He was recently an assistant coach for Doc Rivers in the Philadelphia 76ers (2020-2023) and the Milwaukee Bucks (2024-2026).