Vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer has been involved with the Nuggets in some capacity since 2005. He has steadily worked his way up the basketball operations hierarchy since he was formally hired by the organization in 2013, having been named interim general manager in mid-April after the firing of Calvin Booth.
The Nuggets will reportedly conduct a full-fledged search for Booth’s replacement once their season ends. Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd has been linked to the Nuggets, as has Tim Connelly, who ran Denver’s front office before being hired away by Minnesota.
In addition to external candidates, the Nuggets are also expected to consider lifting Tenzer’s interim tag and promoting him to be the new full-time GM, league sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Tenzer isn’t the only key member of the Nuggets operating on an interim basis — the same is true of head coach David Adelman, a longtime assistant. The 43-year-old guided Denver to a 3-0 record to wrap up the regular season and clinch a top-four seed in the West, followed by first-round victory over the Clippers, which went the full seven games.
The Nuggets are currently 1-1 in their semifinal series against the top-seeded Thunder ahead of Friday’s Game 3 in Denver.
It would make no sense to fire the coach & GM to then replace them with their respective assistants. What would that accomplish?
Why not? Both people had the basketball skills and knowledge to do their jobs. They were just too miserable.
Hiring people who think exactly like them but aren’t miserable seems like a win to me.