ESPN Reporter Reveals Private Conversation With Nuggets Owner Over David Adelman’s Future After Nikola Jokic’s Statement

The Denver Nuggets were in a pickle near the end of the 2024/25 NBA regular season. Their owners decided that change was the need of the hour. How’d they go about bringing said change? Well, they fired their head coach and GM, of course. But interim coach David Adelman stepped up big time to help the Nuggets make quite a deep Playoff run, all things considered. And now, an ESPN insider has revealed that this may have secured Adelman’s future in Denver. Even as Nikola Jokic and other players make their feelings known on who they want as head coach next season. 

So far, the Nuggets have a combined regular and postseason record of 10-7 under David Adelman. That’s a serviceable record for any coach, but for someone who took over in the situation that Adelman did? It’s incredible, especially because 4 of those 10 wins won the Denver Nuggets a gruelling 7-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers. And according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, this win might be why Adelman remains at the helm for the upcoming NBA season.

“Kind of the word was, ‘Hey, if he wins a Playoff series, it’s almost certainly gonna be his gig.’ He obviously won a playoff series and pushed the top-seeded Thunder to the brink,” said McMahon. And it seems Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke was also a fan of the spirit on display from David Adelman’s men.

“Josh Kroenke did tell me; the one thing he wanted to say on the record was, ‘Outside of the championship, this is the most proud I’ve been, because these guys have really rallied,’” he revealed. “And when you talk about really rallied  – they rallied behind David Adelman,” added the ESPN insider on the Hoop Collective.  

Nov 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts before the game against the New York Knicks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

And it’s not just McMahon or the Nuggets ownership that acknowledged this positive change that Adelman brought to Denver. 3x MVP Nikola Jokic also openly discussed how Adelman did a “good job” after becoming the coach. “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… So I think he did a really good job,” said ‘The Joker’.

Now, for those of you still on the fence about Adelman? Perhaps the opinions of Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray will help change your mind. That’s because they agree with the Serbian big about David Adelman.

David Adelman receives support from Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon after Nikola Jokic’s endorsement

Despite only being their coach for just over a month, David Adelman seems to have made a huge impression on the Denver Nuggets locker room. Now, you already know how the Joker feels – he loves the energy Adelman’s leadership brings to the Nuggets. But Nuggets mainstays Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon also gave the interim head coach their votes of confidence for next season.

Aaron Gordon feels that a whole offseason to figure out his philosophy would work wonders for Adelman and the Nuggets. He said, “I hope he’s here next year, I hope he’s our next coach. I hope he gets an entire training camp and a whole offseason to figure out his philosophy. DA’s great. He was excellent for us, and I hope that he’s here next year.” Given how well Adelman did with no prep time, we’d argue Aaron’s right in his assessment.

Mar 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (L) and guard Jamal Murray (R) on the bench in the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Similarly, Jamal Murray also praised Adelman for doing a “good job” after taking over. He gave the interim coach credit for developing creative schemes like the zone defenses the Nuggets used to cause issues for the Thunder. And Adelman’s defensive schemes did help the Nuggets make the series competitive. After all, many had written them off, given the turmoil within the club.

At the end of the day, it seems the sentiment in Denver is in favour of making David Adelman the full-time head coach. And when fan favorites like Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon publicly endorse someone, the Denver faithful are sure to follow. That said, the decision lies in the hands of Josh Kroenke and the rest of the Nuggets’ ownership. And the regular season showed us one thing. The Nuggets’ owners are as unpredictable as Russell Westbrook’s decisions on the court.

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