What will Popeye Jones add to the Denver Nuggets’ coaching staff?

The Denver Nuggets have hired longtime NBA player and assistant coach Popeye Jones as an assistant under head coach Michael Malone.

Jones was most recently the assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under Doc Rivers but has been on the sidelines for the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets since 2010. He comes into the role that was recently vacated by Wes Unseld Jr. who is now the head coach of the Washington Wizards.

Adding Popeye to Malone’s staff is something unexpected since there were several long-time assistants behind Unseld Jr. who could’ve stepped up into the position. But it’s not the first time Jones was in consideration for Malone’s staff, telling Eric Spyropoulos, Nuggets.com that he actually interviewed to become a member of the Sacramento Kings coaching ranks:

"“The first thing people don’t know, I interviewed with coach Malone when he was in Sacramento. He said he was looking for an experienced coach and I’ve been doing it a long time now.“And, you know, he really didn’t say I’d coach one side of the ball and I always saw myself as a coach who can coach both sides of the ball.”"

Popeye eventually went on to work for the Pacers after not making the Kings coaching staff. Malone only coached the Kings for a season and 24 games, so it wasn’t all bad.

During Popeye Jones’ playing career, he spent one season with the Denver Nuggets, the 1999-00 season. Despite only a single season in Denver, the new assistant says he has lived in Denver for eight years now and he loves the area:

"“We (his family) love Denver and every year in the summer we come back and vacation in the mountains, usually the Beaver Creek area, which is probably one of the favorite areas in the world.“So, I’m looking forward to going there after Summer League and spending about a week out at Beaver Creek, going hiking and playing some golf.”"

Denver Nuggets: What is Popeye Jones’ coaching style?

As an assistant coach, it can be hard to imprint a certain style or trademark onto a team. Typically, assistants get lumped in with whatever the head coach was doing at the time, whether fair or not.

When speaking with Nuggets.com for the same interview, he said that the main message he wants to get across is to stay positive and play the game to have fun.

"“I think that [being positive] is important now for today’s players. We know there’s a lot of older coaches that are not very positive in their style, but that was the style back then.“I think with these kids now, you’ve got to bring a lot of positive energy and continue to encourage them to work hard, especially talking with the guys who don’t get playing time.”"

One of the common compliments for this Denver Nuggets roster is the way they pass the ball and play the game with positive energy.

It’s looking like a seamless fit for Popeye Jones with his positive vibe, prior relationship with Malone, and love for the state of Colorado.