David Adelman talked about changes in philosophy and style of play at an introductory news conference Wednesday to officially make him the Nuggets‘ permanent head coach, writes Pat Graham of The Associated Press.
Adelman held the job on an interim basis after taking over when Michael Malone was fired on April 8 with three games left in the regular season. Adelman led the team to a first-round victory over the Clippers before dropping a seven-game series to the Thunder in the second round.
Players responded positively to the increased input they were able to provide under Adelman, along with the lifting of tensions that occurred with the dismissal of Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
Looking ahead to next season, Adelman said he wants the team to get in “better shape” and he’s planning to expand the rotation beyond what Malone normally utilized. He’s looking at a slower style of play to maximize the skills of star center Nikola Jokic.
“We have to get back to being an execution-based team,” Adelman said. “If that takes away some of our pace numbers, or whatever the analytics want to say, I think that’s OK if it wins you a game in May, as opposed to playing a game in December. The majority of the time, if you want to win big, you’ve got to play slow. You’ve got to be efficient. You’ve got to be clean. So that will be things we’ll talk about throughout the summer, going to training camp.”
Graham points out that it won’t be easy to add talent to the roster because the Nuggets don’t own any picks in next month’s draft. Any significant trade would likely have to break up the current starting five, so the best avenue toward improvement will be progress from young players Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes, who missed his entire rookie season after suffering an Achilles tear in a Summer League game.
There’s more from Denver:
- Between the reduced pace and Adelman’s desire for “a premium on shot-making,” Russell Westbrook shouldn’t be part of the team next season, contends Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Westbrook holds a $3.47MM player option, and Renck says the best outcome would be for him to decline it and join a team like Brooklyn that’s looking for a big name. Renck suggests using the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign free agent Tyus Jones, who would provide a steadier option as backup point guard.
- Team president Josh Kroenke wants a better relationship between his coach and GM this time, so Adelman will have at least a small role in filling that position, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “DA will come into that process at some point. … But I think the input will be relatively minimal, because what I’ll be looking for is cohesion between those two (roles),” Kroenke said. “And I think that once we decide on that, I think I’ll have a lot of comfort on how they work together.” Kroenke added that he has “no news on that front” when asked about hiring an outside firm to identify potential GM candidates. He also praised interim GM Ben Tenzer for the way he’s handled the role since Booth was fired.
- Adelman needs to send a strong message to Jamal Murray about coming to camp in shape and being at his best when the season starts, states Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. Murray’s four-year, $207.8MM extension will take effect next season.
Agree with the Westbrook part. Who cares about exciting or energetic he is. He doesn’t give the Nuggets anything they need.
And Murray is going do whatever he wants because no one is taking on that contract unless you take a terrible one back in return.
I like the idea of slowing down the game, anything that gets more out of Jokic is going to make you a better team for sure, right?
Trade Zeke, Pickett and Tyson for any SG starter. Draft a young C and PG prospects
Resign DeAndre Jordan
Look at backup PG’s
If Westbrook and Saric sign on then trade them for a backup PG
Easy
I’m not sure I buy the idea that the same group of guys can really become a lot better at half-court execution. While it may be true that they could or should have emphasized that more, teams really don’t get enough training camp time these days to transform players in an off-season. Most teams that succeed in creating an identity do so by putting a supporting cast around their core guys and making sure that the players in that supporting cast fit what they are trying to do.
Slow down to win big?
Hmmmm
This is going to be a tough sell on the players. They wanna run and gun and have fun.
I wonder if they knew this was the plan when they all endorsed him as new coach?
This reeks of little dictator syndrome. Run it right like we did in practice, go to the correct spots at the correct time, and no creativity.
Imagine a day when people or players prefer “Run and Chuck” as opposed to playing real basketball.
My take on what the article is saying is that Adelman is not saying the won’t capitalize on fast break opportunities – they just won’t run or be in a hurry just for the sake of running.
There will actually be called sets instead of just run/secondary break/early offense (DHO options).
Nothing wrong with playing basketball again.
Everybody copied GSW but everybody didn’t have that skillset.
Looking forward to seeing how this goes for Adelman and Denver.
And, yes… to play this way you gotta show Westbrook the door. He’ll do what you want 1/4 of the time. The other 3/4 he’ll do what he WANTS to do because he’s brain dead half the time – and thinks he’s earned the right to do whatever he wants to do the other half.
Adelman doesn’t need to fight that personality all season in his first opportunity to run his own show.
Easy call.
I don’t think this is going to end well. Just my two cents.
I’m all about playing the right way and I think most players are.
But that responsibility translates when running and gunning. The EXTRA PASS TO AN OPEN GUY instead of going one on two or shooting a contested three.
That’s running and gunning. Running and “chucking” suggests off balance, horrible shot selection and poor percentage heaving lol
You’re suggesting running and “chucking” is reckless? I am suggesting running and gunning is fun and if you do it the right way, extremely effective for the regular season, or at the very least, the first 3/4 of a regular season basketball game.
Things naturally slow down in the playoffs but the first 82 games as a grind? Again, my opinion is this is not going to end well.
Definitely not saying they have to run the TRIANGLE, but didn’t those Bulls teams fast break when those opportunities naturally happened? They didn’t ignore getting out and running to, instead, walk it up and run Tex’s offense.
Im saying, most players prefer to play REAL basketball. Just “running just to run” is what horrible teams have to do to attempt to trick fans into still coming to watch (Charlotte… Washington… New Orleans…).
Cleveland, Indiana, OKC, etc… play real basketball.
It’s not like Denver is gonna suddenly be a team you don’t even recognize.
They’ll still run when they should.
They just won’t when they shouldn’t.
You make great points jumpshot.
Just sharing some personal insights and opinions while (hopefully) not getting TOO detailed, so someone won’t say, “We get it… you played.” Ha!
***I always thought every commenter on this site played!!
But, it’s all circular. GSW won and the game evolved to copying their style of game. Now maybe it’ll get away from that and go to what those teams I mentioned above (and some others) are doing. They still shoot threes – just not sure they’re necessarily “hunting” threes. You don’t need to… threes are always available. The best shooters ever still find themselves wide open.
Just my 25 cents ;)