The King is Dead, Long Live the (no longer interim) King – Nuggets make Adelman the man

It wasn’t quite a flanged mace, but the Denver Nuggets’ spring shake-up felt very close to medieval. Six weeks ago, veteran coach Michael Malone – Denver’s championship-winning, winningest bench boss, and ESPN’s newest talking head – had been unceremoniously removed, and his longtime lieutenant David Adelman was being anointed in his place. After a 17-game audition in the lead chair, 14 of them in the playoffs, owner Josh Kroenke convened an afternoon press conference on Thursday at Ball Arena to formally lift the interim tag off Adelman. The mood was unsurprisingly upbeat after Adelman’s short run: players had endorsed DA. Fans joked that Denver’s search for a new coach required only a “short stroll from the owner’s office”. In Kroenke’s words, he “didn’t need to look far” to find the next leader. It was a celebration of small changes and continuity as much as succession – a new era built on very familiar soil, with no current suggestions of quicksand in the mix.

Just five days earlier, an exhausted Adelman had seen his club finally fall in a lopsided Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City, ending the season on a sour note after weeks of successes few expected. That success is absolutely why Kroenke’s press conference introduced Adelman more as conquering hero than disappointment. Adelman had guided the team through a frantic finish: he won all three of his own regular-season games to keep home court advantage in the first round and avoid a play-in, then throttled the Clippers in seven games in Round 1. Even in defeat to OKC, he found reasons to be proud. Pride in the team. Pride in Nikola Jokic. In Jamal Murray. In Mr. Nugget, Aaron Gordon. In the locker room after Game 7, he lauded AG’s gutsy, injured effort: “He did it in Game 7 against Oklahoma City on the road. That was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen,” he told reporters about Gordon’s hamstrung performance. Coaches are judged by wins, but Adelman’s genuine openness, communication, and admiration for his players – and the way the squad “really rallied around” him – left an impression on the front office.

Kroenke quickly made no secret why he was taking that short stroll across the hall. He praised Adelman’s impact immediately: “I think our group really rallied around [Adelman], and he brought a different voice and a different style of communication, which was really fantastic to see,”. In his telling, Adelman had “squeezed a little bit more out of the season than the direction we were heading six weeks ago”. In short, the broken Nuggets had been energized. Kroenke added that naming Adelman now lets the club “gear toward a return to the NBA pinnacle, to capitalize on the prime years of superstar Nikola Jokić”. It was a victory lap of sorts for Adelman – Kroenke even said they were “really excited” to see what another full season under his direction would bring.

Early in the playoffs, the ever-classy Adelman made sure Malone’s legacy shone through in a couple of early first round answers. DA himself called out the fact that it was Malone who brought Denver its first title in 47 years and piled up more wins than any coach in team history. Part of making the transition smooth for the players in such an unsual moment came from the fact that Adelman isn’t an unknown face by any means – the coach he replaces literally taught him the ropes – so the transition felt more like a coronation of a chamberlain than a palace coup.

This was, after all, as much a business move as a ceremonial one. Adelman’s promotion isn’t just about continuity, it also costs Denver less than bringing in a big name coach – a trend that could continue up the ladder in the front office. Indeed, Kroenke hinted he will treat the GM search similarly: he plans an “extensive process” to find a new general manager and was in no rush. In other words, don’t bet on a star-level search or fancy hiring binge – the Nuggets may once again prefer an inside candidate or a bargain choice. In fact, interim GM Ben Tenzer – another longtime Kroenke lieutenant – was quietly given the interim GM duties during the playoffs, and was mentioned very favorably a few times by Josh in his presser. If this coach hire is any indication, the next GM might very well be plucked from the building’s cubicles, not a consulting agency.

But amid the glad-handing and budget-friendly decisions, let’s not sugarcoat the stakes. As Kroenke stated early, in the Nikola Jokić era, anything short of a parade in June is unacceptable. Local and national commentators very much echo that warning. Those potential critiques now hangs over Kroenke’s decision and where the finger will be pointing if this gamble fails: if Adelman (and the impending GM) can’t deliver another deep run, fans will rightfully point back to Kroenke’s careful, cost-conscious gambits. In short, the owner will own everything — most especially the outcome. But for now, a coronation is complete, Denver’s faithful can find some hope and sunshine in the feel-good inside hire, toast the new king, and most of all, take comfort that their true royalty – Jokić – is still on his throne, ready to write another chapter.