The Denver Nuggets weren't the only team to fire their head coach during 2024-25, but they were the only team to do so with three games remaining in the regular season. Nobody thought it could get more shocking than the Grizzlies firing Taylor Jenkins, but the Nuggets one-upped them by moving on from Michael Malone.
Denver and Memphis joined Sacramento as the third squad in the West to fire its coach, but the Kings did it months earlier. Sacramento fired Mike Brown at the end of December and appointed Doug Christie as interim head coach.
David Adelman is the Nuggets' interim head coach, and he guided the team to a three-game winning streak to finish the regular season, securing the No. 4 seed. How Denver's first-round playoff series ends could determine whether Adelman is named the next head coach.
Sacramento didn't make it past the Play-In Tournament, but that didn't eliminate Christie's chances of becoming head coach. ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that the Kings and Christie finalized a multiyear contract for him to become Sacramento's next head coach.
Will Nuggets remove interim tag and hire David Adelman?
Christie joined Sacramento's staff as an assistant coach in the 2021-22 season, while Adelman has been in Denver since 2017. The Kings went 27-24 under Christie after posting a 20-11 record following Mike Brown's firing.
Adelman has had the interim tag for a far shorter time period than Christie did, but that hasn't mattered. He handled the transition well, or, at least, he had no choice but to do so. Adelman's contract will expire at the end of the season, so he's coaching for his future in Denver, but he said he's not focused on that. He's concerned about leading the Nuggets through the playoffs, which, in turn, could result in him becoming Denver's official head coach.
Adelman has interviewed for several head coaching vacancies in the past, including the Lakers, Hornets, and Cavaliers. He might not have thought that he'd be in the position he is in now with the Nuggets, especially not after Denver won the title two years ago. If Adelman can succeed in the unusual position he was put in, he deserves to take over.