SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Before addressing Denver’s defensive scheme or offensive spacing, David Adelman’s first priority is an intangible.
The 43-year-old pinpointed “our overall vibe” when asked Wednesday night what hasn’t been going well for the Nuggets from his vantage point.
Until Tuesday, that vantage point was the lead assistant coach role. Now, he has been abruptly tasked with leading the team through a turbulent end of the season as acting head coach after Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth were fired on Tuesday.
“It’s only three games. It’s 12 quarters — or maybe some overtimes, who knows — but I do think it’s on the (locker) room to start to rely on each other in a more positive way,” Adelman said. “And constructive criticism is good, but I think there’s gotta be a better way to communicate with our group. And that, I think, will lead to better play.”
Adelman was the first team employee to field questions from reporters outside the organization since the firings. During a 10-minute pregame news conference before the Nuggets faced Sacramento on Wednesday, he paid his respects to Malone’s 10-year tenure and shared his perspective on Denver’s lack of alignment between the coaching staff and front office — a disconnect that led to the dramatic personnel changes by team president and governor Josh Kroenke.
“Personally, I think each individual in (the organization) was at fault. You can try to point at people that aren’t here anymore, but it’s a group effort,” Adelman said. “And I think the change was more about trying to find some positive energy as we head into, hopefully, the playoffs. … This is my opinion. I think there’s a lot of excuses out there to try to make sense of things, and sometimes, change just happens. And I think leadership felt like that. They wanted to find some juice. And this is not the first time it’s happened. Obviously it’s late in the season, and there’s a historic nature to it with three games to go.”
Adelman has been in Denver since 2017 after beginning his NBA coaching career with the Timberwolves and Magic. He was Malone’s offensive coordinator before receiving the interim promotion from Kroenke on Tuesday. Adelman said he spoke with Malone afterward, declining to share the details of their conversation but hinting that Malone has no interest in walking away from coaching.
“Best coach in (franchise) history,” Adelman said of his former boss. “Can’t argue it. Percentage-wise. Wins. Finals championship. … The national narrative, whatever it is, I look at it as a hell of a run. And he’s not done. Honored to work for the guy, and honored to take this seat.”
Kroenke met with the players on Tuesday and delivered a message that Adelman, in turn, summarized to reporters: “Be better.” Most concerningly, the Nuggets entered their 80th game of the season with the 20th-ranked defense in the league, down from eighth last year. Adelman said that in his new role, he’ll be more involved in coaching the defense in addition to his usual side of the ball.
When asked whether schematic changes are reasonable to attempt on such short notice and this late in the season, he responded, “I think it’s reasonable to try anything to win a game.”
Above all, the interim coach stressed that Denver has not given up on its season, a common refrain after the Kroenkes cleaned house.
“We are in the mix here,” Adelman said. “I think people forget that. Like, they keep thinking we (already) didn’t make the playoffs or whatever. We still have a great chance to do something special. We talked about that. The guys seemed convinced.
“The West is crazy, and if you want to go into that tournament not playing at your best, you’ll be done quick. So we have to understand that and lift our level of play, and hopefully along the way — it’s hard to get healthy while you play, but I think if you’re mentally healthy, it’s easier to play physically hurt. So we’ve gotta get there. Rely on each other. And if we can do that and get in the tournament, obviously, we have some very dangerous pieces on this team.”
