Nuggets rumors: Is David Adelman’s job in danger after ugly series loss to Timberwolves?

The Denver Nuggets inexcusably lost to a Minnesota Timberwolves team depleted by injuries in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Everyone is pointing their fingers at Denver head coach David Adelman after the 2023 champions were bested by a team without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu in Game 6.

Adelman, who has been with the Nuggets since 2017, was promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach after Michael Malone was fired with just a few games left in the 2024-25 regular season. He was able to lead the Nuggets to a round one win and all the way to Game 7 against the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder last year, and because he exceeded expectations despite his unideal circumstances, the Nuggets dropped Adelman’s interim title ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The Nuggets were one of the best teams in the regular season despite the injury bug biting them throughout the year. Come playoff time, though, everything went south. The Nuggets played without energy or effort, their defense was suspect, and the number one-ranked offensive unit in the league forgot how to score the basketball. Changes need to be made, and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic has made that clear.

“We just lost in the first round, so I think we are far away,” Jokic said after the loss to the Timberwolves. “If we were in Serbia, we would all be fired.”

However, replacing Adelman might not be a move that is among the impending changes. He has only coached the team for just over one season, and he seemingly hasn’t lost the support of his players or the Nuggets front office.

“It’s not his fault that we couldn’t rebound. It’s not his fault we couldn’t catch the ball very well. There is nothing to blame David Adelman for,” Jokic continued. “It was all us.”

League sources told ClutchPoints that despite some of the growing pains he will face with this team and the mentality of constantly being a title contender with Jokic, there has been no internal feeling at this very moment that Denver will move in a different direction regarding the young head coach this offseason.

The Nuggets seemingly don’t have a desire to undergo yet another coaching search after just promoting Adelman, especially because Malone was fired in part over concern with losing Adelman to another franchise. The Nuggets certainly won’t close the door on anything going forward, but as of now, it looks like Adelman will remain at the helm.

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