David Adelman, Nuggets Agree to HC Contract After Michael Malone's Exit

David Adelman was thrown into the interim head coaching role for the Denver Nuggets with just three games remaining in the regular season, but he showed enough in replacement of Michael Malone to land the full-time job.

Adelman was announced as the Nuggets' next head coach Thursday after ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Denver decided to promote him to the full-time role after he led the team to the second round of the playoffs.

It was shocking when Denver decided to fire Malone given the timing and the reality he wasn't even two full seasons removed from leading it to the 2023 championship. While the team was on a four-game losing streak and a step below the top Western Conference contenders, it was still an unexpected change in direction.

All Adelman did was steady the ship heading into the playoffs by leading the Nuggets to wins in each of those final three regular-season games before continuing that momentum with a first-round win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

That first round took the full seven games, but Denver handled business at home in the decisive contest in a blowout win.

"If we don't make the changes, there's no way we're even in a Game 7," a Nuggets executive told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne after the first-round victory in reference to the decision to fire Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.

For his part, Nikola Jokić said, "I think the owner ... wanted to change something, to change the energy, and probably he did. He got the result he was looking for."

While the Nuggets fell short in the second round, they still pushed the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to the full seven games. It didn't help their cause that Aaron Gordon was dealing with a hamstring injury in that last contest, but Adelman's squad still overachieved in the playoffs considering where it was the day the front office fired Malone.

This is Adelman's first head-coaching job, although he was a long-time assistant for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic and Nuggets prior to the opportunity.

With the coaching decision now in the rearview mirror, the front office can focus on finding more depth to surround Jokić with as Denver attempts to return to the upper echelon of the Western Conference next season.