DENVER (AP) — Josh Kroenke didn't need to look far to find the next head coach of the Denver Nuggets. All he had to do was take a short stroll from his office.
The team's president and governor took the interim tag off David Adelman on Thursday, rewarding the 44-year-old hoops lifer for righting the discombobulated Nuggets on short notice and leading them to a Game 7 against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
Adelman replaced Michael Malone last month and led the Nuggets to wins in their last three regular-season games to avoid the NBA's play-in, dispatched the Clippers in seven games and took the West's top seed to the brink before losing 125-93 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Kroenke said he needs more time to decide on a new general manager, but he wanted to name Adelman his head coach now so the organization could gear toward a return to the NBA pinnacle to capitalize on the prime years of superstar Nikola Jokic.
Kroenke stunned the league last month when he fired the winningest coach in franchise history along with general manager Calvin Booth, who connected the final pieces of the team's only championship puzzle two years ago. Ben Tenzer has been serving as interim GM.
Malone and Booth had a long-running feud and Kroenke at that time said fresh faces — he also promoted Ben Tenzer to interim GM — gave the team its best chance to make a deep playoff run.
“I think that there was perhaps some confusion and some doubt over the decision-making, especially the timing of it, which I completely understand,” Kroenke said. "But I am very proud of the way the group came together under some very difficult circumstances and I am proud to say I thought we squeezed a little bit more out of the season than the direction we were heading six weeks ago.”
Kroenke added, however, any season during this Jokic era that doesn't end with a parade is unacceptable.
Although Adelman didn’t really have enough time to install his philosophies or make many lineup changes, Kroenke said he appreciated the fresh voice and perspective he brought to the job and trusts he'll build on that foundation now.
Kroenke said there wasn't one particular moment when he realized Adelman deserved the full-time job but rather it was an atmosphere of accountability and open communication that swayed him from opening up a search.
Adelman served as Malone's top assistant for eight seasons and was widely seen across the league as an up-and-comer in the head-coaching ranks.
“Part of the thinking of making the change when we made it was to give David a chance,” Kroenke said. "He’s grown with the group and he understands their tendencies as players. I think equally important right now ... is he knows them as people, what makes them tick.
“And I think bringing in somebody from the outside — while I was very open-minded to it initially — I saw the cohesiveness of the relationships on the human side. I think that’s a big factor in where we’re heading with this group now and getting the most out of them.”
Jokic said it was above his paygrade when asked to weigh in on the coaching situation when the Nuggets were eliminated last weekend, but on Thursday, Kroenke retorted, “Considering what ‘Yoke’ makes, it’s not above his paygrade.”
Jokic made $51,415,938 last season.
After their season ended, Jokic lamented the Nuggets' lack of depth and noted that the teams still alive have deep benches that keep the starters fresh.
Denver has blown double-digit leads in Game 7 of the semifinals two years in a row as their exhausted starters faded.
“I heard Jokic's comments loud and clear,” Kroenke said. “I think I was thinking that before I heard those words come out of his mouth. ... We lean on a lot of guys for a lot of minutes in big-time moments and that has a cumulative effect. When you're playing seven-game series that can wear you down.”
The Nuggets don't have a pick in the upcoming NBA draft, so extending their rotation will be a challenge without breaking up the core of Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun. Barring free agent bargains or trades, they may have to rely on summertime strides from young players Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes II, last year's first-round selection who tore an Achilles tendon in his NBA Summer League debut.
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